Abandon, Inc
by DemonFox38
Summary: Lloyd & company crash land on an unusual island after a freak tempest. Unfortunately, they happen to stumble upon something that even Cruxis itself forgot about. Slightly violent, but it has numerous plot twists and a very strange ending.
1. Watership Down

**Abandon, Inc.**

**Author's Notes:**

No tengo nada. In English, I own nothing. Just so you know, all rights will go to Namco & Nintendo. And various other companies and such. Man, I don't even own a toaster . . .The story is PG-13 for language, violence, and mild unsettling events.

Pairings: Hinted Colloyd, Shelos, and some Gesea. It's not going to kill you, I promise. This isn't a love story.

Timeline: Disk Two, Zelos in Party, no Origin or Maxwell. Sorry, Kratos fans – he's on vacation. But, he's having a good time, and he'll send you a card.

**Chapter 1: Watership Down**

Storms at sea are the worst, especially in mid-flight. The sky had swollen with dark clouds so fast that there was little time to react. The winds blew furiously from the southwest, shoving the little Rheairds further and further off course. Rain spat in their eyes, blinding and stinging with such force. Everyone was drenched, clothing drooping heavily with rainwater. Nothing was quite as terrible as that first crackle of lightening, zinging past one aircraft and downward. They had to find land, soon.

"Do you have any idea where we are?", Lloyd Irving hollered through the storm, flying on instinct alone. The rain had squashed his hair down, bangs dripping in front of his face.

His teacher Raine Sage answered back, "We passed Altamira a little while ago. Beyond that, I have no clue!" She was trying to read the group's map, but it was difficult with the turbulence and the storm dancing around them. Giving up, she shoved the map in one of her orange coat pockets, "Drop altitude! We'll have to get down lower."

"What!", Lloyd called, "What do you mean by that!"

"She means get down, bumpkin!", Zelos Wilder yelled to the young boy. His white headband was holding pack most of his hair so it didn't interfere with his vision, but even he was lost, "I can't see Genis anymore. I think he's gone down!"

In the distance, someone shouted, "I'm still here!" Genis's voice was way too tiny for the storm, almost swallowed up in the rumbling in the distance. He was concerning himself with another matter, "Colette and Presea are having engine trouble! I'm going to see if I can get them down."

Another Rheaird floated down next to Genis's, the engine roaring heavily through the sky. Regal dropped to help the younger half-elf, "Hold on!" He just about made it to the other faltering Rheairds when his own engine started coughing and sputtering like theirs. Something shot out of the back of the system, and smoke started clogging up the area, "This is not good! I think a seagull got sucked into the propulsion unit!"

"Whoa! Shit!", Zelos swore as something struck his Rheaird in the belly. Looking down, he saw little pieces of mechanical objects and wires go spiraling below. He called for help, "Sheena! Can't you summon anything!"

The ninja angrily hissed back, "Are you kidding! This is way too unstable to summon in! Besides, what would I do? Summon Volt?"

Zelos tried encouraging her to do it, "Yeah! Something would be good about now!" He jarred again, a bright ball searing through his machine's left wing. He began spinning out of control, swearing as he went down, "Someone's shooting at us! Help!"

Lloyd dove to catch up with Zelos's dying craft, hovering side-to-side with the vehicle. In a moment of panic and insanity, Zelos leapt from his Rheaird to Lloyd's. He slipped from the slick metal, shrieking in fright. Lloyd grabbed the Chosen's hand, hauling him into his back seat. He grabbed onto Lloyd's shoulders, gratefully crying, "Thank you, thank you! I thought I was going to loose my pretty—"

He didn't get to finish that thought. Something wrong had happened so dreadfully fast that neither of them got the time to understand it. The shots that had downed Zelos's craft had turned their guns towards Lloyd's, lacing the undercarriage with ballistics. Lloyd didn't know how far up they were, but he could at least sea the ocean below them at this point. It was going to have to be low enough. Grabbing the Chosen, both of them jumped out of the aircraft in one moment of insanity before it burst like a fiery flower. Both screamed as they fell to the ocean, both hitting the sea like anvils.

Whatever happened next, Lloyd was not entirely sure. Lightening lanced into one Rheiard, and he was sure he could hear Sheena desperately trying to summon something. The smoking one with half its engine destroyed by an unsuspecting bird plummeted away from the three children, crashing somewhere in the distance. Somebody else jumped from their seat before their Rheaird exploded, a bright pink beacon in the sky. Everyone was dropping form the sky so fast, it was hard to keep up.

His vision glazed, and Lloyd slipped underwater, passing out beneath the waves.

* * *

It was morning. There was an annoying sound of seagulls squawking, and the gentle lulling of the tide against the shore. It was warm and relaxing, sand molding around him like putty. He sat up, feeling sore wounds from his crash last night. No, nothing was broken. He was either lucky or dead.

"Buddy! You're okay!"

Lloyd winced, eyes clenching shut. That was not the sound he wanted to hear right now. He wished for Colette's cheerful morning cry, or for Genis's sarcasm, or even Raine's rebukes. It would have been okay to hear Sheena snap at someone, or Presea's soft cooing voice, or the absence of sound from Regal. But not this. The fates were stacked against him, he was sure of it.

Zelos squeezed Lloyd, happy to see he was awake, "I was so worried! You were bleeding so much! Luckily, I know first aid, so you are okay! Mmm, you must love me to have saved me like that!"

"Oh, get a hold of yourself . . .", Lloyd whimpered as the Chosen refused to let go, his head still spinning from the crash. He pushed Zelos off him, scrambling to get up. Making a quick check, he found he had both of his swords and a couple of other emergency items still on him. Well, even if he was stuck with Zelos, at least they had some supplies.

Zelos crossed his arms, now cold to Lloyd, "Oh, sure. That's how you greet the person that saved your life. I could have let you drown, you know."

"Ugh . . .Thank you, Zelos," Lloyd managed to muster up a compliment for the Chosen. He was going to be broody otherwise. Scanning the landscape around him, he found that both of them had washed up on the shoreline of some island. It looked all ragged and inhabited, trees choking the skyline. He ruled out Altamira as a crash site, as well as any of its islands. Lloyd couldn't see civilization anywhere.

Lloyd sat down next to Zelos, trying to figure out their situation, "Where is everybody?"

"You've got me there," Zelos shrugged, equally distressed about that fact, "I don't know where anyone else is, besides you of course. It's rather disturbing. I hope they're okay, wherever they are." He then slyly added, "Well, at least, I hope my hunnies are."

Lloyd snapped, "Zelos!" It was just like him to only think about girls!

Zelos defended himself, "I'm kidding, Lloyd! Just trying to lighten the mood with a little humor, you know?" He dusted off his white pants, standing up and taking in the scenery, "It was pretty bad last night. I'm not sure how we made it out alive."

"Well, we did. I bet the others are okay, too," Lloyd assured his friend. He began pacing around the beach, trying to figure out how they were going to start searching this place. Casually noticing the sea, he didn't find any ship on the horizon. It was still dark and cloudy out, even for early morning. If it was early morning. He still felt very disoriented.

Zelos smiled, hand on his sheath, "You're right, Lloyd. There's no point in sticking around here, anyway." He looped one arm into Lloyd's, playfully skipping around like he was on a yellow brick road, "We're off to find my hunnies! Oh, and those other guys."

Lloyd would have corrected Zelos again, but what was the point? At least he was willing to help him out. The two began scanning the beach, walking around the coastline. Lloyd placed some driftwood upright at one spot away from the tide, hoping it would be a good marker in case they would come around the island full circle. The skies kept swelling darker and darker, and Lloyd could only hope he'd find his friends in time before the storm could hit again.

* * *

She could feel something sliding up her back. It wasn't slimy, but it felt smooth and scaly. As it came slithering on the front of her white robes, she suddenly went from half dazed to wild eyed and terrified. She screamed at it, batting its head away with her bare hands. It opened its jaws, ready to snap at her poor little fingers.

"Hold still!", somebody else commanded as his hands shot out and caught the neck of the albino constrictor. It hissed and snapped at him, biting into his arms and leaving nasty gashes. He didn't seem to mind too badly, carefully uncoiling the snake from around the distraught Chosen of Sylvarant, "Just don't move, and it won't react."

Colette kept deathly still, deeply fearful of the snake. It had managed to twist around her legs and waist while she was out, and it was all she could do not to shake with fear. Regal kept calmly talking to her as he unraveled the snake's coils, wrapping the creature around a nearby tree limb. She wasn't sure she understood most of it, though. All she could think about was that huge thing that nearly had eaten her.

"It's all right, Colette," Regal kept trying to reassure the girl, "It's not poisonous." It snapped him in the arm again, but he grabbed it by the jaws and unhinged it from him. There was serious strength behind those jaws, but he wasn't going to let it frighten Colette. It was just a large and confused animal, that's all.

The Chosen closed her eyes, not looking at it. It seemed to help her nerves if she pretended it wasn't there. After a few more seconds, she could feel the last of it being lifted off her. She relaxed, watching as it slithered away to another tree. Crossing herself, she threw herself at Regal, "Thank you! Snakes scare me a lot!"

He patted the girl on the head, "It's okay. Most of the time, they're much more afraid of you than you are of them."

"What happened last night?", Colette asked, still unsettled, "Where's Lloyd? Have you seen anybody else?"

Regal sighed, shaking his head, "I'm afraid not. I haven't even been down yet."

" . . .Down?", Colette had a new thing to be concerned about. Glancing into the trees below her, she noticed that the ground was achingly far away. She wasn't sure how high up she was, but she guessed it had to be at least fifty feet or more. Much more. Somehow, she had crashed into a rainforest, and knowing places like that, it was going to be a long drop to get down.

Regal pointed upwards, showing her the wreckage above their heads, "That's the only way I found you. I'm afraid I won't be a great help climbing with these shackles still on." It was all twisted and grimy, the insides of the Rheiards hanging out like intestines. She saw another one just like it a few feet away, crumpled in the canopy.

Colette smiled, knowing that wouldn't be a problem, "It's okay! I can fly, and then we can look for people in the sky! It's much easier to find people up there."

The convict seemed shocked at what the girl was suggesting, "Colette, I can't—"

"I've got it figured out. Don't worry!", she giggled, "Besides, I've done it before." Without a second to argue, Colette threw Regal on her shoulder and jetted into the sky in a flash of bright pink wings and mana. The prisoner barely had time to get adjusted to the new heights before Colette was off again.

Trying to avoid looking down, Regal asked, "When did you do this!"

"Oh, I forgot!", Colette explained, "I carried you to Mizuho after we knocked you out in that big scary forest!"

"Well, then," Regal cringed, hoping this wouldn't last too long, "Good to know."

* * *

The storm was beginning to swirl around the island some more, a soft misty cape covering one section of the island. Its coolness woke Sheena up, gently nudging her back into reality. She glanced around for a moment, noticing she was on the ground. How did she get here?

Her head hurt as she wobbled up, taking quick looks at the abundant flora. There were giant trees that stretched up into the sky like rooted skyscrapers. Vines and ferns wound around every plant, almost covering up the ground in a spongy mass. There were mushrooms growing along some trees, and as far as Sheena could tell by her ninja training, they were edible. Birds were flying to and fro, and dragonflies danced around in the air, but there was hardly any other life. She began to feel lonely and abandoned.

"Good, you're awake," Raine greeted the summoner. She had been exploring the area to the east, and returned with a few items, "I was afraid you might have had a concussion."

Sheena half-heartedly laughed, feeling a wound on the side of her head, "Where did you go so fast?"

Raine was more than happy to share that with her, "Well, I found some medicinal items, and a couple different varieties of fruit. I'm not sure if I can use all of it, but I figured you'd be able to help me identify what's toxic." She had wrapped up a couple different kinds of berries, bananas, kirima, aloes, and more like that in a sack she happened to have on her.

"It all looks fine, Raine," Sheena was impressed with what Raine had found, "If push comes to shove, I suppose we could eat beetles, too." The teacher gave her a funny look, and then decided she was just kidding. That, or it was the whack on her head that set her off.

"Anyway, I thought you should know about our current situation," Raine informed the summoner, "Currently, you're the only person I've seen around here. Our Rheairds were destroyed last night, so they're officially useless. I haven't heard from anyone, and I don't know where we are. However, I still think we're in Tethe'alla, most likely to the far east."

Sheena frowned, "Well, that's not good. At least you can heal, and I can fight."

Raine sighed and lowered her head, "I suppose being optimistic would be the best right now. I'm . . .worried about Genis."

"Bah," Sheena threw that off as nothing, "The kid's probably just fine. I mean, he's stubborn and relentless. It's probably a family trait or something." Raine twitched her eye, but allowed that comment to fly. Besides, Sheena was most likely right, anyway.

Picking her collected goods up, Raine began, "I wonder what the best way to sear--"

"**AHH!**"

She didn't finish her sentence, "Genis!" Raine ran off into the rainforest, taking the fastest path to the sound as possible. Sheena growled, jumping off after her in classic Mizuho fashion. There was something nice to be said about having the power to leap and bound over leaves and twigs without making a sound.

* * *

"What . . .what is that thing!"

Presea calmly asserted, "Genis, calm down. We can face it."

Genis shook his head, still a little dazed from last night's crash, "Are you kidding? There's no way we can kill it fast enough!"

Whatever it was, it crashed through another tree. The heavy thousand year old tree gave way with a heavy crack of splinters, nearly crushing the mage and the axe-wielding girl. Presea quickly ditched her plan, grabbing Genis's hand and running as fast as she could with the mage in tow. They scurried through trees and vines like frightened rabbits, finally finding a grove of trees where they could hide for some time.

" . . .is it coming back?", Genis timidly asked.

Presea was just as uncertain, "I do not know."

They could hear its footsteps heavily digging into the moist ground. More trees collapsed in its wake, shaking the earth with their deaths. The two children held their breath, hoping it would not come and find them again. It was all they could do to hide.

. . . it found them. "**Bao-OOoooWOoooWOoooWoooo!**"

* * *

**Author's Note, Chapter 1:**

Well, it wasn't what I had in mind, but I'm glad it's coming out. After struggling with five separate story lines, I began to lop them all together and this came out of it. Sort of. The more and more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do just a creepy (yet funny) story. So, I guess you could say I was writing with a lot of Sci-Fi in my head. Jurassic Park, Resident Evil, Lost, the new Battlestar Galactica, and even a little bit of the scarier Ninja Turtles stuff – this story is kind of along those lines. Wait, do they even nicely come together? Ah . . .nevermind.

Speaking of Lost, is anyone excited to see what that monster really is! I know I am! I read a spoiler-ific article on MSN about what it might be from a 'scrapped script page', and if it's anything like that . . .hoo, boy. Seriously creative. It's probably one of the few reasons I still watch television! (PS—Anyone remember what Watership Down has to do with Lost? Bonus points if you know it!)

And now for something completely different. **RANDOM STATUS CHECK TIME!**

Currently Equipped Titles –

Lloyd – Gung Ho  
Colette – Tiny Angel  
Genis – Friend  
Raine – Survivor  
Sheena – Acrobat  
Zelos – Casanova  
Presea – Lone Girl  
Regal – Way of the Jungle

Review, if you'd like to. It'd be nice!


	2. Revolution 9

Chapter 2: Revolution #9

It was a machine. Beyond that, it was nothing like anything Presea or Genis had ever seen. Its bulk toward over them, thick metallic legs secured to the ground with heavy three-parted feet. Guns pointed at their heads, holding the two children hostage in their grove. What had once been a sanctuary was now a prison, entwining around them like wooden bars. They had no choice but to fight back.

Presea jumped at the machine, barely evading the rounds it fired. Launching into the machine's giant mechanical face, she ripped off sections of metallic panels with one large swing. Her second blow lodged the axe into the machine's singular red-glassed eye, shattering it into thousands of shards. The third blow landed into something akin to a cockpit, severing electric lines and slashing through something else in the process. A thick dark-red liquid squirted out, but she wasn't sure if it was blood or some kind of motor oil.

"Genis! Now!", Presea barked, unable to yank her axe back out. She had more than enough faith in the young half-elf's skills in magic. He was going to be able to take it out now.

The mage had just the perfect spell for this monster, "_Indignation!_" With a sudden whirl of electricity and a shift of winds, a large mana circle engulfed the floor below the machine. The dead center of the circle went alight with a thunderous bolt, searing through the robotic enemy and instantly destroying the entire machine. It fell to the ground with a heavy thud, joints melted and all parts beyond repair.

Genis sighed, relieved, "That could have been bad." He went to help Presea yank her toasted axe out of the wreckage, which actually had somewhat survived the spell. The metallic head of the axe was slightly melted, but could still be usable if Presea took the time to sharpen it. The shaft, however, was warped by the electrical attack and would probably have to be replaced.

"It is too bad," Presea wasn't pleased with what had become of her weapon, "Perhaps I can find another one in my satchel where our Rheairds crashed."

Genis agreed with her, "That's a good idea, Presea! Let's go look."

The children were about to leave the wreckage site when something else began to crash through the jungle. Looking up, they noticed three smaller versions of the robots that had attacked them. The one curious difference was that there were three humanoid creatures controlling them. It looked like they were walkers of some kind.

One man snapped at the children upon seeing them, "Halt! Who is that?" Lurching over, the man and his walker seemed to be something almost royal, "Would you look at that? It's a couple of young 'ons, yessir."

The other two men walked over to investigate the aftermath of the battle, laughing at what they had found. All three were dressed in over-the-top military uniform, like if they were high-ranking generals. It was clearly not functional for combat, but rather a decoration. Genis and Presea stood awestruck at the three men and their machines, afraid of what was happening.

"Good lawd!", the first man gawked in surprise, "Those li'ul kids! Look what they have done!"

The second general roared, "Bloody 'll! Those wee brats!"

Genis through his hands up in defense, "It was chasing us! It was going to kill us! We didn't have a choice!"

"It?", the leader snatched Genis up by his wrist, looking at the exsphere on his hand, "It was a he, you li'ul . . .hmm? This is unusual . . ."

Presea snarled at the first man again, threatening them, "Put him down. I would not like to fight you, but if I don't have a choice . . ."

All three men erupted in laughter, as if it was the silliest thing they had seen in a long time. True, sometimes Presea did not look all that terrifying, but catch her in a wrong mood and heads would roll. Even with her damaged axe, she was ready to take on all three men alone. She was certainly not afraid of them.

"You know, if I didn't know any better . . ." the third and quietest man pondered, "I'd say we have a half-elf and a human with exspheres! How rare is that?"

The first man happily grinned, glad his companions were agreeing with him, "Yes. We will need to take them in for questioning." He commanded one of his fellow men, "Harrison! Stun both of them, and drag the wreckage along with us. We've got ourselves some work to do now, yeah?"

Before Presea or Genis could fully react to the statements, a small prick was administered into their arms. Unconsciousness followed soon after, engulfing them like a large black wolf. The lesser two of the three picked up the robots and hitched them onto their own walkers, dragging it through the rainforest. The first man threw both children into the back of his own machine, and began backtracking through the forest with the same mechanical roaring as their fallen comrade.

He sent a message to wherever he came from, "Sad news to tell, I'm afraid. Paul is dead, man. However, we have something to justify the loss . . ."

* * *

"Colette! We should consider landing soon!"

The mist that was once gently sprinkling over the island had now turned into thick rain. Another cold front was blasting through the otherwise warm terrain, and the black clouds had eagerly burst open at its presence. The storm was picking up speed again, blowing through the trees and scattering weaker leaves into the air. The small angel still seemed ignorant of its power, zipping through the treetops like it was no chore.

She calmly spoke through the now roaring storm, "Just one more mile! I'm sure we will find somebody."

"Colette, I do appreciate your eagerness, but you must be concerned about your well being," Regal tried convincing the Chosen to land, "I'm afraid you may overwork yourself through this! Please, land!"

He was partially nervous for his own health, as well. If Colette would accidentally fall or get hurt, it could kill them both. The ground was a long way away, and without wings or free hands, Regal could very easily plummet to his death if things went awry. Colette still remained adamant, flying at the same speed through the air. She was brave, but almost too much so.

"Just a second! I think I can see something," Colette scanned through the furious storm, noticing two dark shadows walking along the coastline in the distance, "Hey! I think it might be—wah!"

Something bright and red shot out of the forest, narrowly missing Colette. Turning around to see what was going on, she saw a set of turrets aiming directly for her and her companion. They fired again, and she barely evaded the attack by buzzing out of its way. A sudden new panic struck her heart.

"Okay! Okay! I'm going down!" Colette finally gave in, diving deep into the protection of the rubbery-leaved trees. The turrets kept firing at her, burning through plants along it path. It seemed that the firing guns had no range and no mind, just continuing to fire at the shining moving angel in the dark. One narrowly burned past her foot, way too close for comfort.

Colette cried out of shock and fear, "We're not losing them!"

They glided over the coast, now heading over the water. Some of the lasers had stopped firing at them, but a few still doggedly pursued them. Feeling the spray of the water below them, Regal realized that he was going to have to force Colette to do something dangerous.

"Hold your breath!", Regal gasped, preparing Colette as best as he could. Throwing his entire body weight into his movement, he pushed himself and the angel into the water. They hit with a stinging splash, diving deep under the currents. The blue world enveloped everything, sucking the Chosen and the prisoner under the tide. A wave washed over them, churning them around underwater and knocking them loose from each other. It was much too strong for either of them to fight.

There was one last ring of laser fire, and then silence. The turrets had lost their targets—the plan had worked.

* * *

Lloyd stood dumbfounded at what he had just seen. There had been a flash of pink mana as something zipped over the sky, and then blazing red gunfire after it. The blur of color had been skimming the ocean for some time, barely avoiding the fire pelting at it. Then, it had dived under and been swallowed up by the ocean. Even if it was just barely a minute of chaos, it had seemed so long and confusing.

Zelos was more than ready to clear his head, "Lloyd! I think that was Colette! She might be hurt, you know?"

Nothing motivates a young boy quite as much as a cute girl in danger. Lloyd ran into the ocean shore, scrambling under the tide as fast as possible. It threw him back against the beach once more, much too powerful to be dealt with. Not only was it a heavy tide, but it was waning, which was going to be a problem getting back on shore. It was too much for Lloyd to deal with, even with his exsphere.

Zelos clambered up onto a rock protruding into the ocean, watching for anything drifting in the ocean. He saw two humans pop up in the storm, both floating in the dark sea. It wasn't going to be pretty if either of them were hurt. Taking his time to look around, Zelos decided to come up with a somewhat rational plan. Greatly emphasizing the 'somewhat' part, of course.

Zelos grabbed a long and smooth piece of Rheaird that had washed up on shore from the crash. Running into the surf, he carefully balanced on the board and began to propel himself further out. He rose into a swell in the ocean tide, carefully motoring across its surface and bending down. He grabbed one of the two humans and skidded back, stumbling and falling out when he collided once more with the shore. Lloyd gapped in surprise at Zelos as he dragged Colette onto the beach, not quite sure how he did that.

"What? Do I have to do all the work?", Zelos growled, "Now you try it!"

"Man. . ." Lloyd whined, not happy that Zelos totally stole his spot light. He took up the scrap piece of metal like Zelos did, charging at the ocean like a bull. Unfortunately, he didn't quite hit the water with the same velocity or balance as Zelos, and he ended getting flattened into the surf. The waves tossed him around like a rag doll, finally landing him somewhere near Regal. He grabbed onto the rubble, and then helped Regal get a secure grip. Both kicked their way back to shore, strong enough together to get them back on shore in a relatively short amount of time.

Lloyd complained again, "Man, that sucked!"

Zelos fell over laughing at the disgruntled boy, Colette pulling seaweed out of his hair. He was a pretty funny sight, really. With all that green in his hair, he kind of looked like a walking salad. Lloyd snarled at Zelos, whom continued to laugh even as the human got even madder.

"Zelos . . ." Regal interrupted the Chosen's laughter, "There's a starfish in your hair."

The Chosen brushed up to find that indeed there was something crawling around in his hair, "AAACCCCK! Get it out! Get it out! Gyaaa! Stupid ocean!"

* * *

There were tracks on the ground through the slop and the mud. There was a toasted robot that had fallen, disemboweled by some sharp object and then fried by something else. The air smelt funny, like mana had recently discharged. All the animals around them had either run or fallen deathly silent. It was just like a fight had happened, but it didn't make sense to Raine or Sheena. Where were the rest of the combatants?

"Look at this!", Sheena inhaled, walking next to a gigantic set of footprints, "I think these came from a machine. You can see sharp edges in the feet, and a . . .company logo?"

Raine jumped at the opportunity to investigate it, "Yes, it's a trademark of some sort. What is it . . .Dycroft, Incorporated? What company is that?"

Sheena shook her head, brushing her bangs back in the thickening mist, "I don't know. I'm a ninja, not a stockbroker. Besides, there's a date on it. This thing . . . .whatever it was . . .it's eight years old."

"This must be outdated technology, then," Raine murmured, then disheartened, thought about their problem, "There's no more tracks from Genis or Presea, though. I'm concerned."

Sheena knelt down next to one of the tracks, tracing the outsides of them very carefully. Yes, she had heard the strange noise in the middle of the jungle, and the battle cries of the children. They had fought and killed one of the gigantic robots, but it was otherwise unknown what their fate was. There wasn't any blood on the ground, which was optimistic, but she didn't know how to feel about the rest of the evidence. It all seemed so much and yet so little.

Shaking her head, the ninja suggested, "There's only one way to find out what happened to Genis and Presea. We'll have to follow this set of three tracks. When we catch up to them, then we'll know what happened. Right?"

Raine shrugged, uncertain, "It's not always that simple, Sheena. But, let's hope you're right."

The ninja and the teacher took off through the mist again in hot pursuit of the children. The further they went into the jungle, the cloudier and stormier it became. Unseen skies finally let loose with rain and thunder, but they couldn't see the weather through the trees. They only felt hot, sticky, lonely, and afraid. Usually, the duo would not work well together, but they were willing to put egos and squabbles to the side for now. There was a lot left that remained unseen.

But, there was something equally interesting that they did find, "Oh my goddess. . ."

* * *

Author's Note, Chapter 2:

And what will the mystery item be that they find? Well, duh, it's a cliffy. This chapter was mostly filler, anyway. The next chapter will be hell, I guar-un-tee.

I had two very bad points of inspiration for this chapter. The first was (if you hadn't guessed it already) a group of musicians known as the Beatles. I always thought they'd make a very odd enemy to fight. The second was a group of mutant turtles who also happen to be teenagers and ninjas. Somehow, sewer surfing crossed over very badly, and I got Zelos being a whacko. You can totally blame him (or my boyfriend or Raphael) for that one. BTW—cookie if you know what game Dycroft is from.

Now, for a little **STATUS CHECK!** (Feeling déjà vu?) Today's subject is Accessories! Eh heh, this actually is what I have on my characters right now . . . Although, I'm sure this is screwing up the plot line somewhere. Like, I'm not so sure on the Elven cape thing, but whatever . . .just a story, right?

Lloyd: Blue Sephira, Attack Ring  
Colette: Magic Mist, Amulet  
Genis: Mystic Symbol, Magic Ring  
Raine: Faerie Ring, Moonstone  
Sheena: Spirit Symbol, Yasakani Jewel  
Zelos: Rune Cape, Yata Mirror  
Presea: Guardian Symbol, Holy Ring  
Regal: Emerald Ring, Elven Cape


	3. On Why Lloyd Hates Division

Chapter Three: On Why Lloyd Hates Division

"Would you look at the size of this!"

Raine had a good reason to flip into ruin-mode. Towering in front of her was an abandoned bunker, vines growing all over the mass. It was made out of cement and metal, doors almost rusted shut from lack of use. She danced around it happily, gasping and squealing with joy. Sheena couldn't understand why anyone would find it that fascinating.

She crossed her arms, "Raine, the tracks end here. But, this doesn't make any sense. It doesn't look like this building has been in operation for years."

"Now that you do mention it, that is a little weird . . .", Raine thought for a moment, studying the structure carefully. She then sighed, discouraged, "But, this is where the tracks end, and there's no sign of Genis or Presea otherwise. We're just not seeing something here."

The ninja and the teacher fell silent for a few moments, wondering about what to do next. They could stay and investigate the place, but it was still raining heavily and there was no telling what terrible monsters were waiting for them inside. Sheena wasn't afraid of facing anyone or anything, but it wasn't smart to do this with only two people. But, if they left the place, they were risking loosing it and never finding it again. She wished Lloyd and the others were with her . . .

"**Ooh! You're going to let it all hang out!** **Fat-bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go 'round!**"

Sheena felt as if a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders and tied to her legs. Zelos's voice was resonating throughout the raining forest, like a sinister crackle of energy. The rain intensified almost immediately, soaking her ponytail down and drowning her robes. She shuddered in anger, trying not to explode in anger. Sheena always did have the worst luck.

Raine softly laughed, noticing how Sheena had suddenly dropped into a depressive stoop, "Well, there's the cavalry. Let's go find where they are, and bring them back here."

Sheena was sure that some being of great power loved messing her life up.

* * *

After finishing one lap around the beach and not finding anyone else, Lloyd had allowed the party to break from the shore and go deeper into the forest. It had taken him at least a couple of hours to go around the first time, and he didn't want to check it again. Zelos opposed the idea since he wanted to wait for a ship to pass by (and glance at him in his rugged handsomeness), but he was more than satisfied to sing stupid songs to annoy Lloyd. Colette happily agreed with Lloyd, and Regal didn't fight against his idea, so they had all entered the forest a few minutes ago. Besides, with the storm now in full downpour, the trees provided some protection from the rain and the lightening.

"So, why do you think those lasers started shooting at Colette?", Lloyd asked, making some idle talk.

Regal thought about that for a moment, then decided, "It was probably anti-aircraft protection. It didn't seem to shoot after we hit the ocean and stopped flying. That's probably why we were shot down last night, too."

"Man, don't remind me about last night," Zelos growled, "I woke up to a seagull pecking at my face. Freaking birds."

Lloyd winced at Zelos's complaints, and then ignored him, "Anyway, I think you should stay down for a while, Colette. If something is going to attack you, I want it to be on the ground, where I can help you."

Colette wrung her hair out, nodding as she did so. Her white dress and boots were dirty with mud, to her distress. Zelos wasn't happy there was gunk all over his clothes either. If there was one thing that both Chosens hated, it was getting messy without a way to clean themselves up. It wasn't like they didn't enjoy the occasional dip into marshes, but they liked to have their clothes clean at the end of the day.

Besides Zelos's songs about various hot women, the group remained pretty quiet. A couple of times, Lloyd would stalk around their party, especially if he heard a funny noise. There was something always moving around them. They hadn't run into anything scary or dangerous yet, but there was always the threat they'd get caught in a battle. Lloyd knew if anyone of them were knocked out, they wouldn't have Raine's help to get them on their feet again. Even Zelos and Regal's healing powers would have to be used sparingly. It was just for the best to avoid fights.

"I'm kind of tired," Colette softly murmured, looking around her, "Maybe we should stop for a minute."

Lloyd smiled, almost amused with her, "You haven't been flying around like you normally do. I'm sorry; I didn't mean it that literally! I mean, well, you could still hover--well, anyway, we can rest for a second."

"Oh, thank the fates! They're stopping!", Zelos whined, sitting down, "My poor feet . . .I'm going to get blisters!" He then frowned as he realized he was sitting on the muddy ground, "I'm never going to get my clothes clean ever again . . ."

"Geez, you whine a lot."

Lloyd gasped when somebody ducked out their hiding spot in the brush, "Sheena! Raine! Where have you two been!"

Raine waved her hand, smiling, "We'll show you in a bit. Hey, you found Regal! Great! I was getting hungry, too!"

Regal sighed, "I see where my place is." He nonchalantly pulled some fruit out of a nearby tree, and started preparing fruit cocktails. Raine sat down next to him, watching his hands peel, cut, and crush with unprecedented grace. Sheena couldn't believe Raine's sudden appetite, but then her own stomach growled. She couldn't throw stones.

Lloyd leaned against a tree, asking Raine, "Where's Presea and Genis? Have you two seen him?"

With a depressed tone, Sheena and Raine detailed what they had all seen so far. Lloyd was disappointed to find that nobody had seen them, and that they had only been following tracks. Colette seemed pretty optimistic, constantly reassuring everyone that both Genis and Presea would be okay. Zelos kept surprisingly quiet, mostly because he was thankful to get a chance to rest and eat. It took less than three minutes for their full situation to be explained, but it felt like a wonderful and heart-aching reunion.

After all six of them finished talking and eating, Lloyd took command once again, "Well, why don't you show us this place you found?"

* * *

If nature engulfed the building from the outside, it choked the structure on the inside. The rusted bunker's iron doorway had been no match from a concussive blow from Zelos, Regal, and Lloyd. Entering inside, they could tell that the former lobby had probably been dormant for at least as long as a decade. It was dark and musty, and it made Colette sneeze. There was no evidence of furniture, decorations, or even lights that were there before. It was stained with rust and rain, and it had no power of its own.

"Do you think there could be something in here, Lloyd?", Sheena questioned their leader's decision, "I mean, it looks pretty abandoned."

Lloyd shrugged, not sure what to say, "Well, if there's nothing here, then it's a place to get out of the rain."

Raine ran her fingers over a panel next to the door, feeling where there used to be letters, ". . .Dycroft. It seems like this was some kind of . . .engineering plant?"

"That could be a soft way for saying 'human ranch', ya know?", Zelos shuddered. He didn't mind investigating ruins, but it certainly wasn't his favorite thing to do in the world either. His mind drifted for a moment, "Poor kids, alone on the island . . ."

Regal found another doorway, pushing it loose with a couple of shoves. There was no light down the hallway, all of it swallowed up by the shadows. He frowned, advising, "We need to use some sources of light."

"Well, I've still got the blue candle from the Shadow Temple," Sheena thought aloud, "And Colette's wings are pretty bright too. Raine could probably cast Photon on her staff or something. If the idiot chosen would use his powers, we could use his wings for lights too."

Zelos shivered at that thought, "No way in hell. I hate flying, and I hate heights. Plus, I hate what I had to do to get those stupid things."

Lloyd shook his head, ignoring Zelos, "We should be okay, then. As long as all stick together, right?"

Colette liked that idea, "Yeah! I'll protect you guys in the dark!" Everyone blushed from her zeal. She was like that, though—if anyone needed help, she would be the first to volunteer.

Everyone prepared to go into the next room when bright red lights suddenly blew to life in the lobby. A loud siren went off, blaring in their ears. Lloyd's eyes went wide as small robots rolled out of hiding spots in the walls, firing purple lasers at the group. They looked like prototype Raybits, but they still stung as badly as the other robots.

Lloyd took a defensive spot, ordering his friends, "Get into the next room! I'll handle this!" Colette, Zelos, and Sheena ran through first, not doubting Lloyd's judgment. Regal and Raine hesitated, and then followed his commands, knowing it was for the best. As soon as they entered, a laser field shot across the spot where the door had been before, sealing them off from Lloyd. Colette shrieked as a second heavy door went down after that, knowing that they couldn't get out past both devices.

"Hold on," Raine calmed the group, "I'll see if I can find a security access panel. I should be able to hotwire it." The teacher ran back and forth looking for some kind of computer terminal. There looked like there was no live electricity in this room whatsoever, and the air was deathly chilly compared to the outside of the complex. Even stubborn Sheena couldn't help but shiver a little bit.

Raine found something, finally, "Here we go." Plugging in disassembled machinery and flipping switches, she finally got a computer screen to turn on. It glowed green in the dark room, illuminating the professor's face with an eerie light. She waited patiently as the machine booted up, surprised that it didn't ask her a password. The healer studied the screens some more, patiently looking for anything worthwhile.

Pressing a few keys, the professor accessed a security program. A door flew open on her command, but it wasn't the one she was looking for. Instead, it was the one directly across from the room Lloyd was still fighting in. Raine muttered something under her breath, and then tried to open another door, "It's got to be one of these . . ."

With quick slicing sounds, something else opened up in the room. Unfortunately, it was not their exit door. Colette cried in surprise as turrets folded out of the wall, almost alive with weeds growing into their gears. Their first few shots even had chunks of plants exploding out of them. Zelos grabbed the first person he saw (who, ironically, was Sheena) and dove out of the room through the random door the professor had opened. Raine decided that was going to have to be the best tactic, and ordered the other two to flee with them. Colette zipped out as fast as she could fly, and Regal managed to get through without any major injuries. She growled, watching the robots turning to aim at her escaping companions. She decided to make a critical desicion, and threw some switches on the computer terminal.

And then the doors slammed shut once more, "Professor! No!"

The floor lurched under the four humans before they could react, like a bumpy elevator. Regal grabbed onto the side of the room, watching in horror, "Look at that!" Giant metallic claws were ripping out from under the iron floors, throwing pieces of the ground away like dented shingles. They seemed to grow up out of a dark abyss under the floor, tearing away at anything in their path. The loud gnashing and scraping of metal was like playing a violin with a machete.

"Gah!", Sheena stumbled as something yanked a piece out under her. Zelos caught her before she slipped into the abyss below, bright angel wings glowing orange. Sheena gasped at the sight, "I thought you said you didn't like using those!"

Zelos laughed, almost half-insane from the shock and the adrenaline, "I don't, but I'll make an exception!"

"There's no way to disable this," Regal murmured, "There's only one way out of here. Is there a door on the other side of this room, too?"

Colette verified it, "Looks like it. But what if there's a--"

That was all Regal really needed to know. Running across the dark room, he leapt over descending panels and robotic arms and found the door Colette was talking about. He smashed the door open with a ball of brilliant blue energy. It hissed through the iron doors and crackled against the electrical guard system, snapping lighting back at the convict. He was blown back by the sudden shock and destruction of the system, skidding off a remaining hunk of the floor and grabbing onto it before he could fall to his death.

Regal groaned from his precarious spot, "Move, now!" One of the arms snatched a large chunk of the floor, ripping out the last remaining part of the bottom of the room. Zelos held tight to Sheena so she didn't slip, but it was too late to help Regal. An arm had seized his body, and he was dragged to their place below with the rest of the rubble. Colette shrieked in horror, "NO!"

Not wasting any time over the robotic abyss, the two Chosens and the summoner pressed on through the abandoned bunker, now down over half their party. The blue candle and the Chosens' wings were emitting enough light to see, but it still was creepy. Colette kept looking behind her, like if she was afraid someone was stalking them. Sheena remained focused on their situation, leading down the winding hallways. Even Zelos was silent, somewhat torn between waiting for his friends and pushing foreword.

"They're all right, aren't they?", Colette asked apprehensively after many moments of silence.

Zelos lowered his head, frowning, "There's no telling, Colette." He tried regaining his perkier character, "But keep your chin up. Lloyd's probably going in after them, and he'll save them . . .if he didn't get hurt."

"We should have stayed with him," Colette pouted, "Or Raine, or Regal. I know we could have saved them."

Sheena stopped abruptly in their wandering search, listening for something in the emptiness. She looked around for any source of sound, wondering what she was hearing. It sounded like something crumbling, but she couldn't tell what. She decided to keep on going, "We need to hurry up. I think something's happening."

At that very second, a whitefleshy roll of skinpoppedout of the wall and slammed across the hallway to the other side. Dirt and brick flew through the air as a creature began burrowing around the party of three, winding itself back and forth and over their heads and below them. It seemed like it was an endless ivory length of tube coiling around them. Colette shrieked as she saw its face, blind but possessing a strange mouth with sucking teeth.

Zelos growled, "Great! Another trap?" Slashing angrily through one chunk of the worm-monster's tail, he cut a pathway loose. He pointed down the hallway, "Keep going! I'm going to take care of this thing."

"Zelos, you idiot, what are you doing!", Sheena snapped, "You're going to get yourself killed!"

The Chosen argued, "It's not going to matter if you guys are going to be safe. Get moving!" He charged at the monster again, swiping madly while weaving under and over its winding flanks. Colette and Sheena ran, hoping that Zelos would be able to take care of it on his own. He knew he was crazy for making them go on, but everyone else had tried to save them before he had risked his. It was time to give back what he was getting.

It wasn't too much further down the tunnel that the ninja and the Chosen hit a new change of scenery. What used to be stone and dirt was now replaced by an aquatic tunnel deep below the ocean. Sharks and all sorts of sea life swam by the passageway, but neither Colette nor Sheena took the time to fully study it. They had another big problem as they reached a set of doors and two guards standing in front of it. Sheena swore under her breath, drawing her weapons and preparing for battle.

"You've got to be kidding me," one of the guards shook his head in disbelief, "Central security, this is Alpha 12. We've got two female intruders, over."

A raspy voice echoed back over some kind of radio device, "Take them out, soldier. Make sure it's not fatal—we'll need to have a look at them."

"Copy that, over," the first guard drew a heavy gun on the two, "Sorry, ladies, but this is the end of the road."

Sheena growled at the guards, "You've got to be joking. We didn't come this far for no reason!" She flew at the first guardsman, cards swiping through the air like birds. There was a minor struggle, and then an unusual sound as the guard fired. Sheena looked down at her right leg, watching blood swell up from a direct hit. Her eyes lost focus, and she dropped at his feet.

Colette shrieked in terror, unsure if the gun had mortally injured her friend. She cowered as both gunmen aimed at her, hiding behind her chakram. If Lloyd were still there, she would have fought. If any of them were there to reassure her, she would have had the courage to take on a hundred of these guards. All alone, though, all she could hear were the voices of her past telling her to surrender. She felt deep down that she didn't have a chance against either of them.

The flight abruptly ended there with the little angel left all alone, guns pointed at her head.

* * *

Author's Note:

Don't get upset! Everyone will be back in the next chapter—but it won't be pretty. There's going to be some reunions, but mostly, a lot of heart ache. Heh heh, you'll see what I mean.

And sorry for the very scary Queen song! It's just something I think Zelos would sing. Like, the Big Butt song or whatever.

Have you ever wondered what would have happened to Lloyd and his friends if they had initially failed at the run through the Tower of Salvation (you know, where Zelos may or may not betray you)? It wouldn't have been a field of poppies, I know that much. I would guess that the Chosens and possibly Genis and Raine would have been brainwashed and turned into angels. Of course, Colette would now be known as Martel. Mithos would have gotten the seals back from Sheena somehow (maybe by killing her, maybe not), and Presea would have finished growing the Cruxis Crystal. As for Lloyd and Regal . . .dunno. I wouldn't exactly count on Kratos to save his son, but maybe. Who knows?

Heh heh, I really don't have a random status check this time. I started my file over again. Let's see, I've gotten the Presea, Raine, Regal, and Zelos endings. I might get the Kratos ending this time, but I do like Zelos a lot more . . .

Anyway. Hope you're still enjoying!


	4. Despite the Aformentioned Rage

**Chapter Four: Despite the Aforementioned Rage**

There was a cold numbing sensation in his hands and his feet. It shivered up his arms and legs, traveling along his nerves and awaking everything in a steady blur. The feeling traveled up his stomach and wrapped around his ribs like an icy serpent. It crept into his eyes, ears, and mouth, awakening him. He gasped, surprised to be alive and shocked at the awkward feeling he had. Something was definitely out of place.

His body seized up at the sudden terror in his heart, yanking against metallic cuffs holding him to a cold iron chair. He jolted, red hair like violent fire against his imprisonment. He tried standing up, straining with all his power. It was completely useless, and he collapsed back into his chair. Even with all his might and ability bestowed by his exsphere, he could not break free.

"Oh, sweet heart. Just stop that."

Zelos snapped to see a woman sitting in front of him, lazily leaning on an iron table. She had bright green eyes that pierced into soul, demanding obedience from him. She dangled a set of keys in front of his eyes, teasing him like a cat. If this had been an entirely different situation, Zelos would have been tempted to use one of his many cheap pick-up lines. However, being locked up in some crazy place definitely didn't do anything for him.

Zelos growled, "Where am I? What the hell did you do to—"

The woman placed one gloved hand on his lips, snickering, "I don't think you're in a position to debate these things. It's cute how you're struggling, though."

The Chosen pulled his head away from the woman's hand, still trying to get answers, "I don't think you get it! I want my friends, now! Damn-it, woman, don't get in my way!" He normally wouldn't speak so harshly, especially to a member of the opposite sex, but this was a different situation.

"If you would shut up for a moment, I could help you out!", the woman hissed, snapping at the Chosen with serpentine violence. In the moment that she had snarled at him, Zelos had noticed yet another striking feature about the woman. Behind lilac-white her, there were two pairs of very slightly pointed pierced ears. He jerked backwards, startled at what he had scene.

Zelos softly shuddered, "You're a half-elf."

"You're an idiot," she laughed back, "You stumble into a human ranch, and you find it surprising that it's run by half-elves." She finally sat up-right on the table, flicking her shoulder-length hair back, "Well, whatever. It's time we played a different game than cat-and-mouse, hmm? I saw we should play 'Let's Make a Deal.'"

Zelos couldn't care much about that anymore. He was beginning to feel a little dizzy, to be truthful. Noticing his arms, he saw pretty nasty gashes from his battle with the worm monster. He frowned, knowing how badly he had loss that. He then was confused as to why he was wearing an oversized red poncho. He didn't usually wear that, as he was much fonder of his pink duster.

"What is this?", Zelos muttered, looking the strange woman in the eye, "What did you do with my shirt?"

The woman simply chuckled at him again, and re-affirmed her position, "My name is Margari Cycella, and I'm your new employer." Zelos definitely didn't like where this conversation was about to go.

* * *

"How bad is it?" 

The young human carefully looked over the ninja's wound, a grave expression in his eyes. It was deep—it probably needed stitches—and there was no one around to help them. Raine could have dealt with something this serious, or maybe Zelos or Regal. Lloyd wasn't sure how to take care of this kind of wound. He gently put Sheena's leg down and shook his head, "I don't know."

Fujibayashi sighed, knowing that Lloyd meant well, "It's all right. I still have my exsphere on. Maybe that'll heal it all right."

"I guess anything's possible," Lloyd shrugged. He seemed disheartened, and he wasn't quite sure why. It probably had something to do with the fact that he and Sheena were in a cell somewhere within the strange facility. It could have been that he was angry at losing a battle with robots and that he couldn't protect his friends. There was a good chance it also dealt with the terror and dread in his heart. He would have been fine, if he knew what became of all of his friends. Maybe not even then. Sheena's shaky descriptions did not settle well with him.

Carefully unraveling the white ribbon around his neck, Lloyd sacrificed a part of his clothing to help Sheena, "I can do this, at least. Maybe it'll keep it from getting infected." The ninja let him wrap it around her thigh like a compress, secure with letting him do so. She would have had reservations if Zelos wanted to get that close to her, but it was different with Lloyd. He only meant to help her, and she was comfortable with that.

It was a rather neat bandage, picking up some blood but otherwise remaining a cheery white. In a strange way, it was the only thing that brightened up their cell. The walls were made of a strong metallic substance, but it wasn't anything extravagant like mythril. Lloyd couldn't pick his way out of it, and Sheena couldn't concentrate long enough to summon anything. Compared to the technology he had seen in ranches and Cruxis, it seemed minimal. Yet, strangely enough, it did its job in holding them prisoner.

"They let you keep your exsphere," Sheena noted, "That's pretty dumb of them."

Lloyd nodded back and forth, agreeing, "Whoever these guys are, they're not exactly up to par with the Desians. It's kind of embarrassing to be here."

"And yet, looking around at all of this," Sheena trailed off, "It's all enough to defeat us."

The boy disagreed with her, standing up. He firmly stated his point, "It won't be. If there's a way that we could all get back together—if we take it on all as one—we can get out of here. Wherever here is."

Sheena listened to the boy's statement, amazed at how Lloyd could be so optimistic. It seemed that something always did seem to save them from their worst situations. Often times, it came from their own party. If there was a way to get free, certainly it was through teamwork. Unable to stand with him, she simply agreed, "You're right. We'll have to do it, as quick as possible."

Lloyd smiled, glad he had Sheena to count on, "So, you think the others are still alive?"

"Of course they are," Sheena beamed, "I mean, we're all right, aren't we? That's good enough of a case for the rest to be alive."

"Yeah, good thinking," Lloyd grinned at the ninja, "We'll be okay."

* * *

As far as the torturous assignments went, Raine and Genis probably got it the easiest. The half-elves of the strange bunkers were more than willing to forgive them for intrusion (even murder) than the rest of the humans. Both were treated with a moderate level of respect, although some had hatred in their eyes. At least they were spared from the barbs and snares of imprisonment. But, they were still in a position they didn't like. 

Both half-elves had been brought to a huge laboratory upon their capture. It was sheathed in metal, boots echoing off the ground. Tables stretched on for a few feet, row after row containing various biological experiments. There were huge computers that showed image after image of security, filming everything in cold gray. In more ideal conditions, it would have been marvelous to study. Raine was not in the mood to explore their territory, though.

She was feeling rather indignant, actually, "What is this? What have you down with our friends?"

The three generals that had picked up Genis were rather snappy. Lennon especially was short with Raine, "It doesn't matter, girl. The important thing 's if you're going to help us o' not."

Raine wasn't feeling obliged to help anyone, never the less the sour generals, "I don't feel I'm in a position to argue. But, at least let me have my brother back!"

"Sure thing," Lennon chuckled, letting Genis go. The younger half-elf ran over to his sister, hiding behind her orange robes. She softly patted his head, reassuring him for the moment. Not appearing too soft in front of their captors, she again began demanding answers.

"All right. Now, can you tell me what this place is?", Raine asked, somewhat biting back her furious anger. She still was flushed in the cheeks, but the generals didn't seem to notice it too much.

The second one, Harrison, piped up to answer that question, "You are in the Dycroft Human Engineering Division. We were founded as a splinter group from Rodyle's Human Ranch with his funding. Well, when he was around, anyway. It's been a few years since we've had official contact with him. Currently, we are running tests dealing with humans undergoing stress with exspheres. Can't give up the day job because the boss is gone!"

Genis's eyes grew with fright. There was a list of unlimited things that could be tested under that category. And since most of his friends were humans with exspheres, he was afraid what they would have done to them. There were a million terrible things in his mind that he feared would happen to them. The worst, of course, involved _her_ . . .

Genis bucked at them from behind Raine, "What have you done with our friends!"

The three were again amused with the half-elf's temper, chuckling to themselves. He was an obnoxious brat, but he was also so naïve. It was kind of cute, in a strange way. The last of the three generals, Ringo, was more that willing to fill in that blank for the young boy, "Why, the rest of the humans? Lessee—oh! Yes! Two o' the humans we found are going to be sent out to that Yggdrasil fellow as soon as we get contact from him. Might be a couple o' days. And there was a human that our dear lady Margari found, and she took a liking to him. Hmm, I think there's still one somewhere, but it's taken' a 'll o' a time to get him. Got stuck in the garbage shoot. And, then there's the two girls . . .well, take a look!"

Genis and Raine gasped at what they showed them. There were two little girls standing behind them, eyes blank and empty. They had no emotion or recognition in them, just gazing at whatever they saw. Raine felt her heart sink, while Genis cried out with fear. Colette and Presea had lost their exsphere crests.

"Oh, don't get all wishy-washy," Lennon corrected both half-elves, "We're going to keep them alive. We're just removing their crests for combat testing. We'll give them back after every experiment." He slyly added, noticing their fear, "That is, if you two cooperate."

Genis hung his head, afraid of what he had to do to keep Presea safe. Both girls were still oblivious to their situation, watching like amused dogs. Raine bitterly cursed under her breath, and then spoke for both of them, "I suppose we don't have a choice."

The generals all smiled, and cheerfully greeted them, "Well, then. Welcome to the Dycroft Human Engineering Plant. You're being assigned to division #683 – Combat Testing." It was not a job either of them were looking foreword to, but they had to keep Presea and Colette safe, somehow.

* * *

Zelos, for the first time in his life, kept very still and silent. The woman that had claimed him as her own was taking him through a stroll down below the entrance ruins. There had been little explained to him, outside of what worth Zelos was to be to her. He was to be one of her elite bodyguards, and he had to do as she said the entire time. She had fixed some kind of choker on his neck as a tracking device, so he couldn't run away or rebel without her knowledge. This was worse to him than imprisonment. This was public humiliation. 

"Now, now, sweetheart," Margari grinned, "There are some advantages to this. Don't look at it so horribly. Some of the half-elves around here would kill to have your honor."

He wasn't sure what they were. Sure, he got to have his own very shiny Flamberge for fighting with, but that wasn't much of anything. He would have given away the best swords in the world just to have his friends back. He didn't know where his lovely Sheena was, or his cute Colette, or his bright Raine or his quiet little Presea. Oh, and those other three guys. Either way, he would have at least liked to know what happened to one of them. Any of them. It didn't matter at this point; he was unnerved and alone.

The other bodyguards were certainly no fun, either. Besides himself, there were six half-elves defending the sadistic lady. Two of them were stuffy men, so Zelos was automatically disposed against them. The four females with them were just as expressionless, and Zelos hadn't worked up the courage to hit on any of them. They all were dressed in the same robes as himself, each with a different color and weapon. The two men were in white and green, and the girls in light blue, purple, black, and yellow. He guessed they were supposed to be element representation, since his was red and he had a fire-based weapon. It was a bizarre and archaic system, but it worked for them. He also wondered why there was no water element present, but shoved that in the back of his head.

"If someone wants my job, they can have it," Zelos muttered, keeping to himself, "I'm not going to fight to keep it."

Margari's eyes flared with green embers, her voice like a cobra, "You'd better change your mind on it. It's the only reason I'm keeping you alive." She then softened, kindly stroking his head, "That, and you are quite attractive for human filth." Zelos had a variety of emotion shoot through him, but none were enjoyment or wonderful.

"Now, let's see here," Margari stopped at an old and heavy iron door, "This should be it. I hope you're all armed." The light man drew a spear, and the green one an iron bow. The girls all pulled out icy daggers, an electric staff, a huge scythe, and an axe that was much smaller than Presea's weapons. Zelos felt a little uneasy, not sure what these guys all knew. Half-elves could run a surprising gamut when it came to combat.

As she flung the door open, the head half-elf rebuked her soldiers, "Now, don't be hasty. That is what killed our last two members, remember." Zelos shuddered a little, now knowing what had happened to the previous fire and water guards. He wasn't looking foreword to fighting anything that had a reputation for killing.

Steam and the stench of garbage blasted out of the metal doorway. Electric lights inside the dark gray room were minimal, filtering out of fiber optic systems along the top. Watery sludge splashed along the sides of the opening, spilling dead rats out. Zelos would have gagged, if he had the time to do so. All eight members jumped into the room, scanning its monstrous proportions for whatever had gotten caught in the trash compactor.

"Look, that's it!", the ice-blue woman hissed, "What the?"

Zelos found himself breathless and astonished. The numerous metallic claws that had ripped the floor out from underneath him before—they were garbage robots? He sloshed through the mess, coming up beneath some of them. Two had been destroyed, bluntly decimated and cords sparking and smoking. Another couple were snapping at the team, failing to identify them as anything but an enemy. That wasn't what had Zelos amazed, at least not completely. For as long as two hours, for however long he had struggled, Regal Bryant was still alive and kicking. Even if it was upside down, twenty feet in the air and tangled in the grasp of one of the claws.

Margari laughed, watching some of the color drain from Zelos's face, "Another human? Delightfully ironic." She studied the Chosen of Tethe'alla some more, trying to figure him out, "Well, do you know him? If you don't, I don't really see the need in recovering a human . . ."

Zelos snapped back at the other woman, shaking his sword at her, "You're cruel! He's still a living person, no matter what species he is!" He wasn't entirely sure why he was so defensive, but it may have been because of his loneliness. Lloyd wouldn't like it if he let one of his friends die, either. He tended to frown on that.

The half-elf pondered this for a moment, and then issued Zelos an unusual command, "Fine. If you want him to live, go ahead and get him." The human growled under his breath, and then turned away from the half-elves. He hadn't met such a group of selfish people in his life. Raine and Genis were nothing like these guys; he felt sorry their stereotype was with evil people like them.

Zelos took off from them, zigzagging around the metallic arms reaching for him. Some slammed into the ground behind them, barely missing him and dousing the room in sewage. He slashed through one that had gotten a little too close to him, wires flying with a crackle. He shook his head, wondering why he was doing this. There weren't even any hunnies around to see this! He was suicidal and hap hazardous, but that came with being the Chosen.

Regal squirmed loose from the grasp of one claw, kicking sharply. He leapt from its metallic knuckle, sliding down a pile of refuse. He wasn't able to slow down in time, unable to catch himself as he stumbled to the ground. Shaking off the impact, he went to defending Zelos, glad to finally have back-up. There was only so much he could do on his own, and he was way past his peak fighting conditions. It was only through his expshere's power that his muscles didn't completely lock up and leave him weak as a kitten.

Zelos laughed like a crazed madman, "Man, I thought you were dead! Yaah!" He struck at one of the claws that raked by him, dismembering a metallic finger. Regal guarded him as another blasted away, shattering delicate workmanship with a flurry of kicks. Both moved their way to the door, where the half-elves were all watching with faint amusement.

"I appreciate your efforts," Regal panted, red faced and near the breaking point, "You didn't have to risk yourself."

The Chosen cackled, dragging the convict away from a blow that would have knocked him out. He simply stated, "Look, I asked myself a very good question. What would Lloyd do?" He stabbed the underside of another arm, continuing, "And I figured he'd want you safe, too. So, don't think too much of it!"

The two humans raced for the door, barely evading the thundering arms around them. One hit too close for comfort, splattering them in a rain of sewage. Zelos wiped it away from his face with an utter look of disgust. He jumped out of the septic pools, sliding out the mechanical doors with no problem. Regal escaped with similar grace, tumbling out of reach of an arm. It still pursued him, snapping at his ankles like a rabid dog. His heart nearly stopped as it jolted out in vain, inches away from being snared. Zelos angrily slammed the door shut, watching with satisfaction as the door crashed shut on the arm. It crunched with a satisfying sparkle and fell to the ground lifeless.

Both the Chosen and the convict were surprised to have a moment to breathe. Zelos dramatically collapsed on the floor, wiping away some sweat and laughing. The team of half-elves remained mostly expressionless, except for a few who softly commented on their unorthodox methods. Regal was confused who they were, but he didn't ask. He was beyond natural fatigue, something he hadn't felt in quite some time.

Margari was the first to speak, laughing heartily at the spectacle. She regained some composure, and then commented, "Very nicely done, human."

"You can call me Zelos," the Chosen snarled. He hated being called anything but his real name, unless it was a cute pet name. He'd rather be called Idiot Chosen any day than human.

"Well, yes, Zelos. Very artful," Margari glossed over his name, continuing with her musings, "I was sure you would have been ripped asunder in there. Your companion wasn't so bad, either."

Zelos bit his tongue back, forcing bad words back down his throat and speaking with some feigned respect, "Yeah, let's not make that a repeat performance, okay? I don't consider it fun to be torn apart for people's amusement." He crossed his arms, strategically leaning himself on the wall next to Regal. Zelos wanted to make sure no one was going to try anything funny.

Margari sighed, "Hmm, now what? I suppose my husband would like me to report the intruder you so nicely got for me . . ." She spaced off, gently stroking Zelos's hair. The Chosen shook her off, slightly shocked. A husband? For someone so twisted as her, he didn't think any guy could want her. And why would she be such an infidel, especially with humans? They must have had one seriously messed up marriage.

"Hey, lady. I don't know what your deal is, but listen up," Zelos muttered, now getting defensive, "I'm not turning one of my friends over to some whack-job half-elf scientist so he can treat him like he treats the rest of us humans." He brooded next to Regal, keeping his eyes closed and his face solemn, "I've made a mistake like that before. I'm sorry I did that." Regal glanced up at him, surprised at what he said. Zelos hardly ever talked about the Tower of Salvation, and he rarely ever admitted he was wrong.

The half-elf thought seriously for a moment, and then she passed his comment off as nothing. She instead started making coy remarks, "Well, if you're going to be that way, I do suppose I have _one_ last guard position open." She paced around both humans, making small notes about them in her head. If there came a time when she needed to manipulate them, she would need to know how.

Zelos was livid with anger, but he didn't say anything. He didn't necessarily know all about his position yet, but he was sure that he didn't want his friends suffering the same fate. Then again, it would be bad if both of them were split up. He didn't speak against the idea, standing his ground. If this is what Lloyd would do, then he would do it too.

"As long as we don't get separated, I don't care," Zelos spoke, issuing his response. Regal rose to his feet, worried about what Zelos had just agreed on. It wasn't that he couldn't trust Zelos, to a point—he didn't know what Zelos was doing.

Margari smiled on the agreement, glad he was finally being co-operative, "You have a deal, Zelos." She motioned for them to follow her, "Well, come with me. We all have some more business to attend to." With a flare of robes, she took off down the hall, stomping towards their next destination. Her other guards followed her without doubt, putting their weapons back as they went. Zelos shuddered behind her back, finally going ranks at the end of the line. Regal walked along with him, still concerned about what Zelos had done.

Zelos tried brushing it off, "I'm sorry about that, Reg, but we've got to stick together. I don't know where my hunnies are, or Lloyd or Genis, so I've got to keep you around. Don't—ah—don't take it as anything personal."

Regal bowed his head, slightly embarrassed. He barely raised his voice loud enough to be audible, "Thank you, Zelos."

Zelos didn't say anything back. With his friends missing and his world spinning, he had a lot more to worry about. He felt time wasting away, and with each second passing, he was losing all of them.

* * *

**Misc. Commentary:**

Well, that was an odd chapter for me. I'm used to having quite a few more battle scenes than that. Heh heh, anyway . . .

I guess I got a little Zelos-centric with this chapter. Next one, I might highlight Sheena or Lloyd more. And it wasn't even slutty Zelos! Well, I do find Zelos's character very interesting to say the least. He's something else. I'm sure once he finds Sheena again, he'll be back to normal . . .or maybe too overprotective.

BTW—anyone hear any of the soundtracks from Tales of Legendia? OMG! Beautiful music. My favorite theme is probably "Battle Artist". I'm not too fond of the character design, but I do like it that there's finally a Tales RPG out there that has the main character not using a sword! (The martial arts skills are only a bonus!) "Enemy Attack" and "Spinning Thoughts, Bound Hands" are also very pretty. Lots of violins, pianos, and trumpets. Hmm, doesn't "Spinning Thoughts, Bound Hands" sound like some kind of name for a Regal chapter? I'll have to keep that in the back of my head for later.

And when I said this story was Shelos? (puts on Lloyd mask) I lied. It's actually Shelloyd. Or maybe not. I just had a strange moment there. Friendship love is just as good as relation love, and I'll stick to it! XD Don't you just hate that coffee scene between Colette and Lloyd?

Well, until next chappy, I guess! God knows when that'll be, with school back on. Hope you've enjoyed so far! Sorry to say, I haven't got anything funny . . .maybe in some time. And I kept my promise, DW-881! XD


	5. Rabbit Hole Dialysis

Chapter Five: Rabbit Hole Dialysis

She sat in a folded lotus position for many minutes, eyes closed in meditation. Reaching out into the foreboding darkness with her mind, she could feel her friends' auras around her. Next to her was Lloyd, pacing back and forth and trying to keep his mind occupied. Further out and below her, she could sense something that felt despondent, like Raine or Genis. There was an empty feeling when she tried to find Presea or Colette, almost like a black hole next to a sun. Zelos and Regal were within her range, auras frightfully glowing with dread. It was like she was sitting next to all of them, even if she couldn't see them. She wanted them to be with her, everyone, even Zelos. She felt so lonely without all of them.

"Sheena? Are you okay?"

The ninja's eyes snapped opened, and she nodded, "Yeah. Sorry, Lloyd. I just thought I'd meditate for a moment." She sat upright, very carefully watching her injury.

Lloyd smiled, a little bit sheepish, "Ah, my bad. I was just worried about you." He nervously ran one hand through the back of his hair. He tried to avoid being obnoxious, since it was one of Sheena's pet peeves. Plus, he didn't like to be dropped to Zelos status with her.

"It's no problem, Lloyd," Sheena grinned, relaxing against the metallic wall, "I kind of wish I knew what happened to everybody, though."

"Or what's going to happen to us," Lloyd soberly added. He sat down next to Sheena, somewhat fatigued. He softly explained, "I'm worried about you, Sheena. I mean, really. I don't want you to get sick."

Sheena was surprised at his answer, silent in shock. Of course, Lloyd was always loving and caring to everyone, and he wanted everyone to be safe. He had spared their lives at one point or another, when he could have left them to die in town ruins or in dark forests or even in their moments of betrayal. Lloyd was forgiving and kind, and he wanted everyone to live happily together. She smiled, hiding some embarrassment in her cheeks.

She tried to reassure him, "I'm fine. Really, Lloyd, don't worry about it."

Lloyd remained quiet for a moment, and then agreed, "I know you'll be fine." He looked quietly around the cell, "We should find a way out of here, as soon as we can." He turned to her again, "What do you think about—Sheena?"

Sheena's body had frozen up. Her mind was burning with fright, seeping through her eyes and glowing out her irises. It had all happened at once, but she didn't know what it was. There was fear from Zelos, panic from Genis, cries of terror from Colette; everyone seemed to have screamed all at once in her mind. She could feel someone slip away from the conscious realm, someone shiver, someone running and hiding. There was no flow of time, just a sudden blast of what might have happened or what was to come. She lost the ability breathe, gasping for air. It was all too much at once.

Lloyd shook the summoner, trying to snap her out of it, "Sheena! Sheena! Damn-it, come on!" He couldn't understand all of the terror and pain in her, only holding her until she responded. He kept begging for her to wake up, but it was like she couldn't hear him.

Finally, almost magically, she broke loose from the sea of cries, her eyes alit with sudden understanding. She regained control of herself, slowing her breathing down and unraveling herself from Lloyd. The swordsman was confused, a puppy-dog like stare besetting him. She jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain in her thigh as she got up. She had realized the full extent of their hazardous condition.

"We have to find a way out and get our friends," Sheena commanded, "We can't waste much time."

* * *

It was all a wash of memories, and it hit poor Colette like a tidal wave. It almost felt like someone had restarted her brain. She remembered everything quickly, but it felt like she had relived her life all at once. Her heart ached, lonely and empty. She wanted Lloyd back, or Genis, or the Professor, or anyone. Thankfully, she had Presea. 

They were both in a bright white room, with the door locked and the floors padded. It was probably some kind of containment room, something like they'd have in an asylum. Colette tried to remember why she'd be here, but she couldn't come up with anything. She simply sighed, flopping down on the floor. Presea was doing the same, but she still seemed confused. Her mind had a few more years to boot through than Colette did.

Looking over her clothes, Colette found a slash mark on the side of her sleeve. With great distress, she exclaimed, "Oh, no!" There was a little blood, but it wasn't anything too serious. It merely surprised her.

Presea rifled through her memory, finally pulling up Colette's name, "Colette? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, it's nothing," Colette smiled, trying to write it off as nothing big, "I just got scratched."

The pink hair girl nodded, taking a close look at the wound. It looked like something with claws had swiped at her, leaving a three-sectioned tear. She calmly stated, "At least it's not a deep cut. I wonder how you got it."

"I . . .I can't remember," Colette shook her head, frowning, "I know I'm clumsy, but not this badly. I think we must have been attacked."

"Where is everyone?", Presea asked, a sudden panic flickering in the back of her head. It had almost been like they hadn't existed in her mind for a moment. She felt fear shudder through her, but held fast against it.

Colette gasped, suddenly remembering, "We were all trapped! Oh, no! Lloyd was fighting off robots, and the professor got stuck behind a door, and Regal fell down a hole, and Zelos—"

"Colette, calm down," Presea softly rebuked, "How did this all happen?"

The angel seemed dizzy, sitting down, "I still don't know. Everything's so blurry." She drooped, almost lying down against the floor in shock. She felt like she was going to cry, "I want Lloyd back. I want them all. I don't feel safe."

Presea agreed with the Chosen, patting her on the back, "It's all right, Colette. I think whoever is responsible for this could spare us the courtesy to explain everything." She actually didn't believe that, but it was something to keep Colette a little happier. She felt extremely lonely too, and her lack of optimism was weighing her down. It probably would have been worse if she hadn't had a friend.

"Okay," Colette sniffled, finally toughing up, "We can wait. I'm sure somebody will tell us what's going on. Maybe Lloyd will even come for us!"

With all that she couldn't remember, Presea doubted it. She had to keep up their hopes, though, "I'm sure he will."

* * *

It was beyond cruel what the half-elves of Dycroft were doing to the children. Not only did they force them to fight in meaningless battles against monsters, but they didn't heal them. They were almost zombies everywhere, and when they had their exsphere crests on, they couldn't remember what had happened to them. She couldn't forget the blank stare of confusion in both their faces as they were lead back to their cells. She didn't know what she could do for them, though. They wouldn't let her near them, and she had to take notes and record their data from combat. Even when she watched them on camera, her heart started to quiver a little bit. 

What they were doing to her brother was equally as demeaning. While the scientists entrusted Raine to help collect data with them, they sent her brother on meaningless tasks. Most of it was running messages about, occasionally getting experimental chemicals or exspheres. He was forced to watch Presea and Colette fight too, and he had nearly shattered the entire lab trying to stop them. He was lucky he was a half-elf like them—if he were human, they would have killed him.

"The tool on the left, Miss Sage."

Raine startled at the large man's orders, struggling to grab the selected item, "Yes sir." This half-elf she was working with was more than enough to intimidate her. He was at least twice her weight and a little taller than any human she ever knew. His eyes and hair were like a subdued furnace, and he spoke very few words. Not even the usually mouthy generals bickered around him. He was like a large block of ice that froze the world around him. She didn't even know the man's name or his purpose, but she guessed he must have had some sort of overwhelming power to command such respect.

As he continued tinkering with the metallic robot he was building, Raine quickly shoved some papers into her pockets. She had printed off some of the security device codes from the computers around her and was preparing to disable them. It turned out that nearly everything on the island was self-defense. Somebody had made a device to control weather patterns, another set up lasers, a third implanted security drones in abandoned parts of the complex—it was all a part of the lab. The island wasn't even really an island. It was more like a floating human ranch; it was without a doubt designed by the same genius that came up with Rodyle's ranch and mana cannon. This was a larger headache than Raine could deal with on her own.

Someone yelled from the back, "Your bratty brother is back, and he won't leave us alone!" Raine jumped up to pace across the metallic lab, greeting Lennon. He was rather pissed off, carrying Genis around by the collar of his outfit, "Do something with him, will you? He's quite the nosy little brat."

"I'm not nosy!", Genis defended himself, "I was just curious how your lasers operated!" In truth, he was really stalling for time. While he had been running test results around the entire lab, he had also picked up some maps and documents Raine asked him to get. He was hoping they wouldn't search his pockets, terrified what could happen if they found out what the two half-elves were up to. He had to rely on his wit and his sister's insane ingenuity to get themselves organized without harm.

The large cold man in the back growled, "Let the boy go. He means no harm." Everyone store blankly at him for a moment, but Lennon quickly agreed to it, "Yes, Lord Cycella." He dropped the kid on the ground and turned out, rejoining the rest of his snickering cohorts outside. He hated being humiliated like that, but whatever the boss said went.

Genis shivered as the brooding half-elf rebuked him, "Make sure you do not annoy him again. He has superiority over you, child." He barely squeaked out an apology, and bolted next to Raine's robes. He carefully slid his maps into Raine's pockets, and then clung to her like a scolded child to his mother.

"Just make sure you don't get in their way again," Raine softly whispered to Genis, smiling coyly, "We wouldn't want to do anything to impede their efficiency."

He took the joke well, grinning at the irony, "Nope! I'll just keep to myself next time. By the way, do you have more forms for me to ship around?"

"Why, I do," Raine nodded, glad her brother was working so well with her, "You'll need to run it to the next room over. It's some testing results of Combatir and Brunel. I'm sure you won't cause trouble again?"

"Yeah, yeah, no problem," Genis was more than ready to back his sister up, no matter what would happen to them, "I can do that."

* * *

Zelos was pretty emotional, for a guy. He rode on extra-ordinarily highs and sank into low mires of depression. If anyone pissed him off, he would immediately come back at them, eye for eye. He had a soft spot for any girl who looked sad, and was surprisingly cuddly if anyone took him up for a hug. He defended his morals and fought for his friends, even if it meant entering the lairs of evil on his own to get help them. He could worry and fret, mourn and rejoice, and yet still be optimistic in his own way. One thing he never really ever felt was silent, but he couldn't find the strength to utter a word now. 

He sat in silence, glancing around his prison cell and its contents. It looked like glass panels, but it was much stronger than he anticipated. Glowing fish floated past him in the darkness, so he felt like he was down far enough to die if someone would happen to damage their cell. Their teeth and eyes freaked him out, and he couldn't rest with them constantly swimming by. He felt anxious and worried, stomach knotting up into a little ball. He stretched out on the floor, staring upwards at their underbellies. It all felt so cold.

"Zelos? Are you all right? You haven't said anything for quite some time now."

In his strange state, Zelos had forgotten that Regal had been then, sitting on the ground and watching him. There was something unusual about Regal, especially when he was near the ocean. He could almost fade away with the tide, just so quiet and deep and mellow. It wasn't weird for him to be silent, but there was just something mystical about him and the ocean. Sure, he was a native to Altamira, but he had never really seen anyone melt into their surroundings so comfortably. Well, maybe Sheena.

Zelos's stomach tightened again. Sheena. How could have he forgotten about her? There was a special place in his heart for the ninja, somewhere besides his mother and his sister Seles. When she wasn't beating the crap out of him, she could be so gentle and insightful. Even if she wasn't book smart, she had a certain other quality that he loved about her. Maybe it was her wisdom, or her beauty, or her –

"Zelos, talk to me. There's something wrong."

"What?", Zelos asked, startled, "Oh, sorry Regal. Guess I'm just a little down."

Regal's expression lifted into one of concern, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The Chosen shook his head, waving one hand, "Ah, it's nothing. I'm just worried about Sheena. And Colette." He frowned, continuing, "And Presea, and Raine, and Lloyd and the brat and—"

"I know," Regal nodded, tucking his legs under his arms, "It's overwhelming. I cannot stand the thought of sitting here while any of them may be hurt. Yet, we seem to have very little opportunity to help them." He too had been locked up and given a poncho, just like Zelos's but dark blue. Somehow, it made him look more sober and depressed than usual. It was okay dealing with Regal with his handcuffs since he didn't make a big fuss about it, but with that metallic collar on his neck, he really did look like a prisoner. He was hurting too, but he wasn't talking either. Zelos couldn't explain the sudden empathy he had in his heart, but he knew why it was there.

Zelos bowed his head, murmuring, "I'm worried about you, too. And me. We—we can't stay here. We've got to think of something before that crazy bitch comes back and gives us a slow, horrible death."

"Crazy bitch? Now, now, is that any way to act?"

Zelos just about jumped out of his skin. There stood Margari, arms folded and smirking thoroughly. He stood up, trying to erase the hateful glare in his eyes. Regal became mute, once again relying on Zelos's words. It might not have been the wisest decision, but it was all he could rely on. Zelos could speak so passionately, and his arguments were always surprisingly strong.

Margari sighed, pitying the Chosen, "It's really too bad you weren't raised with some manners." She briefly waved her hand to a cloister of her other guards, ordering, "Take the other human somewhere else for a little while. I'm going to take a little break with this one." They obeyed without a second to think, hoisting Regal off the floor by his chains and dragging him out the door. He threw a pleading look backwards, but did not resist their power. Zelos thought about trying to throw the guards off him, but he didn't move. He had to deal with the crazy woman first.

"Don't worry, human," the half-elf coyly remarked, snatching Zelos's attention, "If you're a good boy, nothing bad will happen to him." She took a tendril of his red hair and curled it around her finger, smiling with an evil little tuck in the corner of her mouth. Zelos wasn't sure what he had to do to be a 'good boy', but he didn't like the looks of this.

The remaining guards abruptly disappeared somewhere else, probably hiding in the shadows in case Zelos did anything funny. He would have taken some time to think about what that meant if someone hadn't stuck their hand into a corner of his white pants. There was an involuntary shudder, a carnal reaction to what the woman was doing. Zelos then realized what it meant to be a 'good boy'. Margari wanted him to do _it_ with _her_.

Zelos never thought about sex in an immature way. He liked it, or at least the idea of it. No matter what Zelos boasted about his manly hormones or his escapades with the opposite sex, he was still a virgin. He was naïve about how people exactly viewed sex—he had assumed most women didn't necessarily pursue it like an active hobby. Man, was he ever wrong! Still, even faced with this proposal, even with all of the activity firing in his brain, Zelos Wilder could not take the final step down the path of the gigolo.

Dryly, the Chosen swallowed, "Don't . . .don't you have a husband?"

The half-elf rolled her jade-green eyes, not amused with his hesitation, "He's working. He's always working. He doesn't care what I do in my spare time." She traced a long purple fingernail down Zelos's collar bone, snickering, "Or who. I always wondered how jealous he would get if he found out I fornicated with a human."

That mad him feel like a piece of liver. Zelos grabbed the woman's wrist and delicately removed it from his neck. She was getting way too fresh with him, and she was certainly doing it for the wrong reasons. Zelos spoke the few words he never thought he'd say, "I can't do it."

"That's okay. I understand if you're a virgin," Margari murmured, flicking back pale lilac hair, "I can teach you, my little protégé."

Zelos's cobalt eyes flared with anger, "That's not what I mean. I can't do—what I mean is—ack!" He finally spat with vehement rage, "I can't have sex with you! I don't love you, or even like you! You take me from my friends and use them against me! I—I—I despise you!"

It was like the half-elf had never heard a human bad-mouth one of her species before. There was no real response from her, just a huge fermata of silence drifting in the cell. Zelos frowned, pushing himself away from the deranged half-elf. He was sorry he had to say such things. He wanted to be back with Genis and Raine and remember why half-elves were good people too. He didn't want to be around such a negative person, no matter what race she was. He wasn't going to be used as some kind of sexy pawn.

**Smack!**

Zelos dropped to the floor, his head hitting unsettlingly hard. He lost consciousness within seconds, blacking out in a swirl of confusion. As the Chosen lay prone on the glass prison floor, Margari snarled lowly. She knew how to deal with such insolent _beasts_. It was beyond the point of reasoning with the human—he had forfeited his safety. He was really going to have to suffer her now!

"Guards!", she snapped, getting her faithful minions' attentions, "Get my surgical kit. I'm going to make sure he _never_ crosses me again."

Despite his heroism and chastity, no one was able to save the Chosen from the upcoming agony bestowed upon him.

* * *

Sheena could always rely on her ninja training. It always served her well, no matter what situation she was caught it. Her lessons had given her the courage to fight against her foes, the agility to escape danger, and the wisdom to know when to use which. It also taught her how to find and exploit even the tiniest weaknesses of a structure, especially a prison cell. It didn't matter what it was made of, what securities were on it, or anything else. When she put her mind to it, Sheena could get out of any trap. 

Lloyd watched as the ninja hobbled against the metallic walls, feeling the seams in the panels. He was wary of her injury, hoping she didn't hurt her leg again. Working in the opposite direction, he slid his own fingers along the sides of the walls. He groaned, trying to pull away at any section. It was just too strong to get rid of.

"Sheena, I—aggh," Lloyd groaned, pulling even harder, "How do you think we're going to get out of here? I mean—errggah, what if this doesn't work?"

"It's got to, Lloyd," Sheena muttered, moving onto another panel, "There's always a way out, and we've got to find it before we run out of time."

Lloyd was mildly confused, stopping his pulling for a second, "What's going to happen? Are we in danger?"

Sheena shrugged, testing another metallic panel, "We might not be, but our friends are. We've got to find something before they get—what's this?"

A current of warm air was blowing a few inches over Sheena's head. The only way she had been able to tell was by the ruffling it made her hair do. This was pretty illogical, since there was no grate or any sort of duct system. She looked around the cell, wondering if the jet blast was coming form some other place. There were no circulation systems to be seen, but yet, there was still that warm air. She went back to where she had felt it before, passing across it with her hands. Yes, it was still there. She hadn't made anything up.

"Lloyd, come feel this!", Sheena exclaimed, pointing above her head. The swordsman quickly ran his hand by it, feeling the puff of hot air roll past his fingers. His brown eyes brightened with surprise, but he was also stumped. What was this, anyway?

Lloyd pressed his red-handed glove on the spot, trying to understand why this was happening. His hand passed through the wall, hanging out in some mid space. He jumped backwards, yanking his hand back out. He couldn't believe what he saw. His hand had really gone through the wall like there was nothing there! He was even more muddled than he was before.

"What kind of technology is that?", Lloyd gasped, "Why would they make something like this, anyway?"

Sheena smiled, finally figuring it out, "It's an air duct. They have to have ventilation around this place, probably to keep the air fresh. If we had seen the duct earlier, we would have been able to pull its cover loose and escape!"

Lloyd nodded, finally understanding, "Oh, so it's just a really complicated way into tricking us into thinking there's no way out?"

The ninja half-heartedly sighed, always amazed at how Lloyd could simplify things. She wasn't the most scholarly either, but she at least had common sense. Sheena agreed with Lloyd, "Yeah, that's pretty much it." She began to feel for the opening Lloyd had reached into, and then grabbed onto it. With ease and strength, she pulled herself into the mirage and pushed through to the other side.

She laughed joyously as she made checks around what she had found. It was an air duct, just as she thought. The metallic duct was a little bit on the small size, but Lloyd would be able to fit through it. The ninja dusted off the floor of the duct, turning herself back around to tell Lloyd about what she had found. She slid out of the illusion, offering her hands to the swordsman, "Well, come on up! It's our way out!"

Lloyd vaulted himself in after Sheena, taking a quick look around for himself. He felt claustrophobic, like a sardine jammed in a tin can with its brothers. The ninja had quickly gone ahead of him, tunneling down the duct like a stealthy rat. He bumped and squeezed himself down, muttering as he went, "Are you sure this'll lead us to a good place? We could get caught again, you know."

"We don't have a choice, Lloyd," Sheena defended her position, "Besides, you want to go back and wait to die a slow, miserable death?"

Lloyd panted through the system, "Good point." He continued crawling after her, sighing, "Man, Zelos was right. I did put on weight. I should lay off the sweets for a while."

Sheena snapped back, "Would you keep quiet? We're going to get caught!" She was now in ninja mode, and she was only concerned with sneaking away and not getting caught. Lloyd sighed, knowing she didn't mean to hurt his feelings, and continued to follow her lead. If she got into trouble, he'd take care of her. He just needed to let her do her thing.

They were making their first steps towards everyone's freedom. They just didn't know what hurdles they had to jump ahead.

* * *

Misc. Commentary: 

I guess that was my Sheena-centric chapter. Man, it's tough to keep writing dialogue based action! I'll have to throw in a fight scene next time. It should work very well . . .mhwa hah hah!

BTW—Lost fans? Did you expect **that** to be down the hole? And I'm just going to keep referring to it as **that** so that I don't spoil the surprise for people. Mamas and the Papas, though? Strange music. It's just very, very weird.

Next chapter should be more Genis/Raine based, in case you're wondering. I guess I got a little cruel with Zelos. The sad thing is, I've got worse things in store . . . and you won't like it! Unless you're one of those maliciously aligned people that likes seeing **certain people** getting the crap beating out of him/her. I'm not dropping the spoiler ball this time! Wha! Hey! Kendama! (crashes) Damn-it!

So, in advance, here's my random humor. During the next few chappies, I will have to apologize to these people:  
1) Rabid Zelos Fangirls (or guys; doesn't matter)  
2) Shelloyd fans  
3) The rare population of Regal Fans  
4) Colette Fans  
5) Presea Fans  
6) Beatles Fans (Who's the walrus now?)  
7) The Society for the Prevention of Half-Elf Abuse (SPHEA)  
8) That one person who thinks I write too much about Zelos (Sorry!)  
9) Anyone with the lotto ticket/Chinese fortune cookie reading with the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42. (If you're a Lost fan, you'll get it!)

Sorry for offending/terrifying any of you. Please enjoy the show. (Yay! 52 hits on chapter 4!) See y'all later.


	6. Wheel of Fortune, Roulette Style

Chapter 6: Wheel of Fortune, Roulette Style

Raine was not the type to gamble, especially not in a dangerous situation. She always erred on the side of caution, and she never dove into anything without analytically thinking it through. She was often the voice of reason among her companions. Certainly, Raine would never hazard the fates of her friends in any bet. But, despite all logic and odds, she was going to have to risk this. Did she really need this information? Would it help in their escape? She winced, closed her eyes, and said a little prayer.

And then she hit 'print.'

She had been lucky to sneak off what information she did have so far. There were snippets of maps, detailed defense program instructions, even blueprints for robots and weapons. She found Lloyd and Sheena's location early on, and she quickly found everyone else thereafter. The teacher had discovered some information detailing projects around the time Lloyd's mother was murdered, and even transactions from the Lezerano Company from as early as fifty years prior to their adventures. Worse yet, there were diagrams comparing Colette and Presea's battle performances to older human examples, including Presea's sister. It was all open for her to take, and yet she was afraid to do so.

"Miss Sage, did you finish those charts I asked you to complete?", a voice rumbled from the back. Raine shuddered for a moment, almost forgetting that Cycella was there, and hurriedly found the papers. It was a good thing he was more wrapped up in his work than what she was doing. He could easily have her head for what she was doing.

She quickly ran them over to her, eyeing the printer as she went, "Yes, sir. I had these done a little while ago. I'm currently working on organizing your analysis of the weapons depository."

He barely glanced up for a moment, accepting the papers and indicating her to put them down to his right, "It's getting very low. We've been living off scraps for far too long. All we have is what we recycle."

Raine was a little confused, curious why a human ranch would be running low on supplies. Usually, they were the most technologically advanced groups of half-elves, mainly because Cruxis provided them with the materials they needed. Why would a ranch need to be recycling their scraps? She decided to get a little nosy and ask him, "When was the last time you got new supplies?"

Cycella deeply breathed, almost with some infliction of frustration, "Eight years. We would have died out, had it not been for our conservatories and this island's inhabitants. We fuel ourselves." He raised his eyes to glare at Raine, "I will not give up on Cruxis, though. Our contacts to Lord Rodyle should through soon enough."

Raine's mind sparked, and she gasped, "But, R—Lord Rodyle is—"

Before she could inform the dark half-elf about the fate of the human ranch master, someone threw open the doors and exclaimed, "Hunny! I've got a present for you!" Raine turned around to look at maybe one of the skankiest half-elves she had ever seen. She was wearing a black leather jumpsuit, like most of the half-elves around here, but hers conveniently seemed a little small topside. She had a sinister glow in her eyes and tapered light purple hair. The woman didn't even acknowledge Raine's presence as she placed a jar down on the table next to Cycella's current project.

She giggled, pestering the man, "Guess what it is." Raine didn't want to even take a stab at it, staring at it with grotesque abhorrence. It was a set of fleshy tissue suspended in formaldehyde, red and swollen. They had been for the most part cut out neatly, but they still were slightly bleeding. Raine glared at it with a sense of terror, afraid of what they could be.

Cycella was impatient, "Margari, I have no time to guess. Just tell me."

"All right, be that way," she scowled back, then smirked, "They're a set of palatine tonsils."

Both Raine and the large brooding man straightened at the sound of that. Raine was beginning to fear where they had come from, for one very good reason, "Palatine? I didn't think half-elves had palatine tonsils."

"They don't," Margari laughed, somewhat impressed with the new woman's knowledge, "Our kind doesn't get them from cross-breeding. Elves never have them, so for genetic reasons, we don't get them. I just got these from a human."

Raine's heart stopped for a second. She hadn't seen any humans, test subjects or otherwise, around this place except for her friends. Rifling through her brain, she tried to think when it was she last saw everyone. Presea and Colette were safe from the woman's scalpel, since both had recently been with her running tests. But what about Lloyd and Sheena? Or Zelos or Regal? It could be any of theirs. She barely found the courage to ask, "Who . . .who are they from?"

Margari snickered again, somewhat amused with Raine's constant questioning, "One of my guards. Red-head, little under six feet tall. He was getting rebellious, so I decided to make his life a little more hellish." She then redirected her discussion to Cycella, "I also got his appendix, if you'd like to take a look at that."

Raine was floored, internally collapsing as she heard the news. That woman had so lightly taken her companion apart, and she thought of it as nothing! Zelos was somewhere suffering, and there wasn't any way she could get to him to heal him. His own mana wasn't going to be of much use, especially since he didn't seem to know much about anatomy. She had to think of some way to get to him.

Her buzzing mind was interrupted by the half-elf woman jabbering, "At any rate, he's still alive. I figure he still might be of some use. His other companion seems to want him kept alive."

"You have two humans and didn't tell me?", there was a rush of excitement in Cycella's voice that had been previously absent. He jolted out of his seat, towering over the smaller female, "I expected you to smuggle one, but two? You know how critical they would be in my experiments!"

Margari snapped back, "Hey, first come, first serve!" She bitterly added, smirking again, "Besides, if you really want them, go ahead. I'm sick of them. The first one was temperamental, anyway. I would think that the other one would be the same."

"Wait, please slow down," Raine begged, trying to sort through all the details, "You have two humans, and so does he. There's another two being sold, though. Why?"

Both the husband and the wife seemed to be upset that Raine interrupted, but they didn't say anything about it. Cycella coldly answered, "I determined they were incompatible for my experiments. I couldn't remove their key crests without major electrical damage to their expsheres. It'll be enough to get money for them." He then readdressed Margari, "Get the humans. I wish to see them."

The lilac-haired woman faked a curtsy, and then stormed out of the room, yelling orders at her guards. Cycella growled in frustration but quickly reassumed his calm demeanor. He rifled through some files he had stored near his desk, chuckling mildly at Zelos's tonsils floating in their jar. Raine stiffened, looking away from the black table. Her friends were getting ripped apart in front of her, and there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Miss Sage, I'd rather not have you here when they bring the humans back," a deep voice informed her, "Please go somewhere else for a little while. This will probably upset you."

Raine lifted her head, confused, "What? But why?"

Cycella didn't clarify much, "You have a weakness for the human race. I'd rather not be soft with them. You'd understand if you were more . . .scientific with them."

Raine's eyes narrowed. She said nothing, but simply took her papers from the printer and left. Yeah, scientific. As much as she liked her friends, she never felt the need to make them little experiments. A mixture of anger and fear coursed through her, but she kept it hidden. She had something up her sleeve, and it was going to have to work.

It was her one and only trump card, after all.

* * *

There was a hidden, fragile weakness deep inside Regal Bryant. It hardly ever showed, but when it did appear, it somehow engulfed him. When it surfaced, the fear would suck the blacks of his pupils away and leave him both discomfortably hot and cold. It would streak down his back in pale flashes, and his stance would drop like if someone had socked him in the gut. It was incredibly hard to hit this weakness, but when it struck, he had no way of hiding it. It's difficult to hide one's heart when they wear it on their sleeve, doubly so if they don't have a full shirt on. At least he had a poncho now to hide that.

This was not one of those moments where the weakness was visible. Even after being locked in a room not much larger than a closet for two hours, even after considering his fate, there was no fear in Regal's eyes. The half-elven guards that let him out were surprised with his gall, dragging him down to where their lady had summoned them. He asked no questions, although he had some floating around in his head. He had some concern when he was led down a new hall, but he didn't ask why. He simply followed them, stride still as powerful as ever. There was no time to be afraid or weak.

"Quiet, huh?", the guard in purple snickered, "I wish more humans were like you. Quiet." She teased him a little further, poking him in the shoulder, "You're pretty docile, too. I like that."

The white-garbed male shook his head, "Would you please stop hitting on the human? It's disgusting." His ally obviously took no heed, continuing to play around with Regal's hair while he marched on. He said nothing, detaching himself from the entire event. He had much more to worry about, like Presea or Lloyd or—

"Here we are," the male guard stopped his troop, "Well, get inside, human. We haven't got all day." With a small shove, the guards threw Regal at the door, slamming him against its iron face. He groaned, pushed himself off, and opened it. He was not going to stoop to their level, even if it did test his tolerance levels. Breathing deeply, the rage softened and disappeared.

Regal stepped into the large metallic room, barely taking seconds to orient himself. There were huge black tables lying about like corpses, small glass ornaments running tests. Green-fonted electric devices lined the walls, either radar screens or computers or something akin to that. A long side of the right wall was paneled glass, peering across into a gymnasium styled terrain of some sort. It all seemed foreign, but he didn't concern himself with understanding what everything was. He had something much more critical to deal with.

"Human. We've been expecting you for some time now."

The deep rich voice slithered out of the darkest corners of the lab, slinking around his ears and sending an involuntary shiver through him. He stood his ground, hands folded in front of him. Even if he was looked down upon in this group, Regal was going to still hold his powerful air. His face did not change as the man's voice beckoned to him, "Come here. Let me get a better look at you."

Regal cautiously walked towards the shadows, noticing dulled rusted irises peering at him. He assumed this man had some sort of great strength, noticing how bulky he was even slouched over in a desk. From behind him, another half-elf unfolded her legs and got up, smiling ever so sinisterly. Regal maintained his defense, slowing as both half-elves began to eye him over. He wasn't what he was feeling, but it was some diluted mix of fear and uncertainty.

The female half-elf lightly brushed one of his shoulders with a sharp fingernail, saucily giggling, "_This_ is the human I didn't touch. He doesn't say much, doesn't he?"

"It appears that way, Margari," her husband agreed, carefully inspecting Regal. He didn't flinch as they continued their investigation, holding his hands tighter together. As long as he could maintain his calm illusion, he could get through this without some nervous response. He wasn't afraid, but it was deathly close to it.

The large man softly mumbled, one hand across his chin, "Well, human, feel free to talk. Humor me." He had a strange stroke of enjoyment from this, one single laugh echoing, "I'm sure you've got a lot on your mind."

Regal quietly responded, "I'm not sure what you want me to say." He dipped his head, watching footsteps prowl around him from the safety of his bangs, "I'm sure whatever I will say will not be something you wish to hear."

"Oh?", the half-elven scientist asked, now curious, "I'm sure it will be amusing. Humans always have been. Why else do you think I came into this business of human breeding and fabrications? Your kind is a wonderful labor species."

Peeling back a layer of defense, Regal suddenly snapped back to his full height, some anger in his eyes. He quickly cleared it up, "Why did she have to hurt Zelos? He was only asserting his beliefs." Finding some more rage, he carefully channeled it through his throat, "Where are my companions? What have you done with them? Why do you— "

"I like him better when he doesn't talk," Margari interrupted, a bored expression on her face, "Any form of art does not need to speak to be enjoyed." Regal bit his tongue, knowing he had let too much anger go. He had to keep alive for Zelos's sake, at the very least. He had heard what had happened to him, but he hadn't been able to heal him or even help him yet. It made him feel hollow and empty inside, pondering his friend's unfortunate fate. He swallowed, trying to resist the nausea growing in the pit of his stomach. The weakness was coming.

Margari's larger companion chuckled softly, "Hmm. It's certainly a healthy specimen you've been keeping from me. It even attempts to hold its tongue. Quite wise, really."

Regal barely found the courage to push words past his mouth, "I want to help my friends. Please, don't kill them." The weakness was crawling up his throat, choking him and strangling phrases going past it. His mouth dried, sight suddenly blurring. He couldn't lose it here. He hoped and prayed he could keep it down. If it got out, it could kill his friends. He wanted no more blood on his hands.

"Help your friends? That's certainly an understandable motive," the larger half-elf rumbled, leaning back in his chair and studying the human, "If you're willing to talk more, perhaps we can discuss a sort of . . .ah, yes. A deal."

There was a soft pause, and then a timid response, "Deal?" The weakness finally overtook him, shrinking his otherwise tall stance. He pondered their offer quietly in his head, unable to do anything else for the moment. If it would keep his friends safe—if it meant getting even—could he do it? The last time he gave into a deal to protect someone, he had ended up with his betrothed dying in his lap. But, if they kept their word . . .if it meant he'd give something up to keep his friends save . . .was it worth the risk? The weakness had taken his body; must it take his soul too?

"What would be required of me to insure . . .Zelos's safety, at least?", Regal pondered, knowing he couldn't do much more. If there was the chance that Presea or the others were free, he was not going to reveal their identities. The most he could do was at least barter for Zelos.

Margari smiled with feline evilness, patting the human on his head, "There's a good human. I knew you had your price." She traced one finger down his left arm, explaining what she had in mind, "I have my reasons to believe you would be good at fighting. Would you be willing to test the strengths of some of my husband's experiments? It has been some time since we've had a live specimen test them."

Regal dropped his head, murmuring, "All right. I will do it. As long as you keep your word."

"You've got it, human," Margari sneered, gleaming happily at her husband out of the corner of her eye, "I'll keep my hands off Zelos if you run some tests for me—us. You have our words."

The weakness left him. His jawed tightened, and he regained his sight and composure. How great and terrible a thing loyalty was to hold Regal hostage.

* * *

Genis was sick of not knowing. He was tired of having to wait in a corner for Raine's instructions, shuttling papers back and forth when she asked him to do so. He couldn't find any of his friends on his own, and he certainly never saw Presea or Colette when Raine had to be with them. He didn't know where Lloyd and Sheena were, or even Zelos or Regal for that matter, and he was pretty much left on his own to deal with things. Frankly, he was fed up. It was past the planning time—they had to get into action as soon as possible.

He was pacing back in forth in a smaller lab, researching articles for Raine. There was one solitary desk with a terminal on it and rows of lockers alongside the walls. After searching them, he had discovered it was an armory. More fortunately, his kendama had been recklessly thrown into the mess. Genis had taken the liberty to recover it, and screw anyone that wanted to take it away from him. He was tired of getting tossed aside.

"Man, what am I doing?", Genis shook his head, surprised at what he was thinking, "I'm acting so irrationally. I can't let this happen. I've got to keep cool for a while and—what's that?"

Genis opened the door to the lab, watching as another group of colored guards with ponchos walked by. They were shuffling along quite noisily, especially considering how they were otherwise light on their feet. Something seemed very out of place with them. He followed them out, shutting the door behind him. He was going to figure out what was up with them, at least.

"H-hey! Um, guys, wait up!", Genis tried slowing them down, calling after them. The two women stopped and looked at him, with the green-robed male seemed irritated with the interruption. They allowed the youngster to catch up, moving as soon as he rejoined their ranks. Genis ran up as fast as possible, but quickly slowed down after he saw whom they were marching with.

A soft voice squeaked out of the red-garbed human, "Hey, brat. How've you been?" Genis's jaw dropped, looking at how pale Zelos was. His skin was bruised in some places, but the rest of him glowed a faint moonlit color. He wiped some blood away from his mouth, barely able to stand. The little half-elf didn't know what to think about it.

"Zelos?", Genis gasped, trying to figure it all out, "What happened? What did they do to you?"

Zelos could barely manage a whisper, his throat burning like a small will-o-the-wisp, "Not quite sure. Hurts like hell. Can't talk much." Genis was surprised by his stuttering talk, especially by how short it was. Usually, he couldn't pay money to have Zelos shut up. He must have felt really ill if he couldn't talk.

Genis tried to console the injured human, keeping pace with him, "It's okay! We'll have Raine look at it! I'm sure that she'd be able to fix you up."

"You're naïve, kid," Zelos murmured, shaking his head faintly, "Something's up. Not sure what. These guys said nothing." He took a moment to soothe his throat, then continued, "I think Reg's in trouble."

Genis was a little confused, "Regal?" Zelos nodded, half-interrupted by a shove in his back. The guards wanted them to move faster, now discontent with having him talk with the little boy. Genis kept trotting next to him, demanding more information, "Zelos, I've got to know more. Have you heard anything about Presea? What about—"

Zelos denied anything else, "I don't know. It's not looking good." He wilted a little bit, pain searing through the lower part of his torso. There was a faint bloodstain in his robe where he had been cut, though it was difficult to see. Genis looked at it, afraid of what had all happened to Zelos. The Chosen couldn't tell him any more, "Might not want to see this, kid."

Genis slowed and stopped as the guards continued to press Zelos foreword. He took the human's word, knowing that there wasn't much he could do on his own about it. What about Raine? Did she know anything about it? He watched as the group disappeared down a turn in the hall, wondering how much time he had left. Something was happening pretty quickly, but he needed to figure out what.

He paced back down the hall, finding the lab he had abandoned. He flipped the computer terminal on, taking a quick moment to search for any new records. There had to be something new on somebody. Otherwise, why would they have dragged a beaten Zelos around like a scolded puppy? While he admitted that sometimes Zelos did need a good smacking to set him straight, Genis didn't ever want to beat the guy up.

**Dunk! **

Genis looked straight up. That was not a normal sound, by any means. It was clanking around in the metal ducts above his head. There was some shuffling going on, too. He kept walking under the shuffling, waiting for something to happen. It was probably only a rat, right? He gripped the end of his kendama, anticipating any sudden movement. Rats weren't that hard to—

"AGGH!"

Something landed on Genis, pinning him flat on the ground. The half-elf shoved the thing off him, annoyed and terrified. He stuttered when he saw who it was, "L-l-lloyd!"

The human groaned, rolling off the floor, "I'm not good at this tunnel thing." He rubbed his head, trying to reduce some of the pain, but then started to celebrate, "Genis! Hey, you're okay!"

"Of course I'm fine," Genis rolled his eyes, putting up his usual sarcastic air with Lloyd, "I'm the half-elf in a human ranch. You're the one in trouble." He smiled, glad to have his friend back, "But, I was worried about you! I thought you were going to get hocked or something!"

Lloyd's expression dropped, "You mean, sold for cash? Man . . ." He looked like he had forgotten something, "Oh, just a second!" He stood under the hole where he had dropped out, extending his arms, "Come on out, Sheena! It's safe!"

The injured ninja slid out of the duct, landing with relative ease in Lloyd's arms. She looked exhausted, but not as bad as Zelos. She still had some flush color in her skin, at least. Sheena didn't seem to mind her leg injury so much, sliding to the floor and her own feet. Genis was surprised to see Lloyd's ribbons tightly bandaged around it. At least they had tried to help themselves on their own.

"Do you need something for that? I'm sure there's an apple gel somewhere around here," Genis began rifling through the locker drawers on the side, looking for anything that could help Sheena. In the meantime, Lloyd helped himself to a couple of swords he found stashed in the locker. They weren't as powerful as his other swords, but they'd work for combat. Genis finally found something for Sheena's leg, and gave it to the ninja. She was very grateful, attending to the wound and healing it with the apple gel. It wasn't enough to completely heal it, but it was a good start.

Genis was more than excited to have his friends back, "Anyway, I'm glad you're here! We've almost worked our way out!"

Sheena lifted an eyebrow, "Out? What, have you been tunneling with a spoon or something?"

"Well, not quite like that," Genis laughed, scratching the back of his head, "Raine and I have been hacking the security systems. It turns out we're pretty far underwater, so no tunneling. We'll have to get out by a sub or the top passageways. Once we find everybody, we're going to create a systematic shut down." He added with a little embarrassment, "She still wants to blow the place up."

Lloyd chuckled, nodding his head, "Yeah, that's our professor, all right." He took a quick nervous look around, like if he were forgetting something, "Say, Genis?"

"Yeah?", Genis responded rather blandly.

Lloyd got his question out, "Um, where are the guards around here? It seems pretty high-tech for them just to let you run around and mess up their computers."

"The chap's pretty smart! Well done!"

Genis's eyes bulged, staring at who had opened the door. His jaw dropped as three heavily garbed generals stormed into the room, slamming the exit shut behind them. All three carried heavy military weapons: a sword, a spear, and an axe. They looked pissed off at what they had found, and at the same time, thoroughly amused. The half-elf couldn't believe he let the ball drop on this one! He was usually so much smarter than this!

"Well, I'll be the walrus," the lead general Lennon snickered, "We've got ourselves a little band o' rats. Shall we give them a good whacking?"

Of course, this was going to lead nowhere good.

* * *

The nice one had come back. There had been others that had come for them before, and they had taken off their shiny crests. They had taken some blood samples and gave them strange quizzes, but they had forgotten to give them back their shiny crests. It wasn't a problem, though. They would get them back, if they were really important. The nice one would want them to have it, right? That was the way the nice one was.

She was upset. The nice one never was upset around them, even if she looked frightened by them. She called both of them by their names, and she seemed familiar, so the girls had accepted her as their friend. She would give them back their shiny crests, and their minds would feel better for a while. Right now, it was hard to think for too long. They had to focus, in case they were getting tested again. Oh, she had them? No more tests? Well, that was accepti—

Colette shook her head, surprised by the wealth of information that had come back. She felt joyous for no apparent reason. Well, part of it had to do with remembering who Presea and Raine were, and that they were there with her. She gleamed happily, greeting the professor, "Raine, I'm glad you're back! I almost forgot about you!"

"I suppose that's what happens when your crest is removed," Raine softly smiled, but it seemed like too much of an effort. Even if Colette wasn't exactly the deepest thinker, she knew when somebody was depressed. More so, she could empathize with them. She had to figure out what was wrong.

Colette asked shyly, "Did something bad happen?" She quickly corrected herself as Raine gave her a confused look, "Well, I mean, other than the fact we're in a human ranch and we don't know where anybody is and . . ."

Raine nodded, interrupting her rambling student, "Yes, I know, Colette. It's just that . . . .something new has come up."

"Someone's in grave danger, aren't they?", Presea finally questioned. She had remained shy and quiet, even for her. There was some fear behind her blue eyes, but she didn't let it creep out.

Raine confessed, "It's about that, girls." She slowly took a pause, and then continued apprehensively, "I need to help you two make a plan for escape. I'm afraid because you're humans, you'll be the next to be hurt."

Colette's expression widened, "Someone's hurt? It's not Lloyd, is it? We need Lloyd to help us!" Well, as an afterthought, Colette really needed everyone. Lloyd was her main protector, but everyone helped to keep her safe. Raine and Genis were smart, Sheena and Zelos could wriggle out of any situation, and Presea and Regal were strong enough to defend anyone if they were downed. They all had kept her safe, even Kratos. It felt wrong to be missing any of them.

"If we work together, no one else will be hurt," Raine sighed, trying to keep their hopes up. She took a deep breath, and then started, "Genis and I have been locating everybody. If you are willing to help, we can find everyone quickly and leave."

Presea was fast to pick up Raine's general idea, but she had her own questions, "Leave? What kind of transportation do we have to leave?"

Raine stuttered, almost like she was a disturbed mouse, "I-I . . .I have something planned. It'll be a little destructive, but it'll get the job done. I just need to know that both of you are willing to take orders from me."

"Always, Professor," Colette smiled, still bubbly even through the darkest of times, "Just tell us what we need to do, and we'll do it!"

"Good!", Raine finally gave them a small bit of reassurance, breathing a sigh of relief, "This is what we're going to do . . ."

* * *

It had all been planned out. Raine had spent hours, maybe even days articulating every little detail of their escape out. Even before it could be executed, there were immediate problems, some that she didn't know even existed. Zelos was sick, and he needed medical help beyond his spell powers. Lloyd, Sheena, and Genis were locked up in a small laboratory fighting for their lives. Regal was directly under the thumb of the human ranch, and there was no way to remove him without substantial notice. All she had left to rely on were Presea and Colette. There was no constant. There was no wonderful event to expect. There was a good chance something was going to go wrong, and she had no way to stop it.

The dice were up in the air before she could place her own bet. It was going to land harshly for both sides.

* * *

Author's Note & Crap:

This will be the last of dialogue-based chapters. Moving into action! Fuh fuh fwa! Hey, there's going to be at least 2 different battles going on at once. That should be something to look foreword to. Who doesn't want to fight mal-adjusted Beatles, anyway? As for the experimental object. . . I'll leave that secret. Let's just say I've had way too much Naruto and Star Fox influence to be healthy.

Maybe not everyone likes a fight scene. But, Sheena's always good for fight-scene fodder. It's that ninja thing.

Anyway, along with the next chapter, everyone should be having a little more aggressive role. Maybe not so much Colette. If she's pissed off, she's likely to go crazy, but it's hard to make her mad. Even poor little Zelos should get in on some action . . .maybe not this chapter, but his turn is coming up! XD

But it won't be pretty. Just a head's up! The next chapter ending is going to leave you with a serious cliffy problem. Maybe this did. It's just a point to start funneling everything into.

And yes, Zelos can still have babies, so don't worry kiddies!


	7. Within You, Without You

Chapter 7: Within You, Without You

_Try to realize it's all within yourself; no one can make you change . . ._

He was sitting on the ground, an IV running out of his hand. The scientists had been eager to draw a blood sample, and he could not refuse them. Of course he was afraid it would weaken him for battle. He was terrified that he would fail Lloyd, Presea, Zelos—any of them. All of them. But, he didn't dare raise his voice. This would only be temporary. He had to concentrate his power, make sure everything was in line. He could not fail.

"There we go," the female half-elf snickered, releasing the IV from his hand, "Very good, human. I wish we would have had more samples like you."

Regal still couldn't speak. He felt a tangible fear, but he couldn't explain it. There was something else sickeningly wrong, and he couldn't stop it. Maybe he would be able to spare his friends this time. What about the next? And after that? He couldn't keep up his strength forever. He certainly couldn't wait for Lloyd to come in, gung-ho as always, and rescue him. Lloyd could be dead. He shuddered, wishing that it wasn't true. Lloyd would . . . he would do something . . .in time.

The heavy metal door to the lab opened, and four beings marched in. Three of them were the half-elf guards of the crazed Margari. The forth was weaker than the rest, body bowed over like he were about to collapse. He didn't know what happened to Zelos, or how bad it was, but he was suffering from it. Regal pushed himself off the ground, helping Zelos find a place to sit down for a moment. It was his duty in Lloyd's place to keep his friends safe. He wasn't going to fail that valiant boy.

"It's okay. Really," Zelos defended, trying to wave the convict off, "I'm fine."

Regal blinked, frowning, "You look very pale. Have you had any time to recover yourself?"

Zelos wilted a little more, almost as if he had lost all his energy the moment he sat down, "It's not working. I've tried. It's just a little—little more powerful than I can handle."

Margari quipped from across the room, "It's not going to work, human. I've installed security measures on you two to stop your exsphere-generated healing, among other things." She crossed between them, patting the Chosen on the head, "Don't worry, sweetie. You'll heal, in time."

Zelos ignored her, arguing as hotly as he could with Regal, "Don't do this. Whatever you're doing, it's not worth it." His eyes maintained their glow, pleading for the lack of his words. Zelos could be demanding most times, but there was a certain way he looked when he was begging for his way. He was quite the pathetic sight, with his eyes the only bright part about him. Regal couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"It's like you said before, Zelos," Regal shook his head, not giving in, "What would Lloyd do? You told me that he'd want me alive. I'm sure he'd want the same of you."

" . . .We're screwed, aren't we?", Zelos gave up arguing with Regal, throat throbbing too much to make any great argument.

Regal nodded, unable to talk either. He wanted everyone together again. Even after that afternoon in the Gaoracchia forest when they had beaten him to a pulp, they still had enough mercy in their hearts to let him travel with them. Lloyd and his friends were beyond compassionate with all their enemies, given half the chance. That's what he had to defend. He had to protect a group of loving young adults who had saved him. It was what they had done for him; he had to return the favor as many times as he could.

He was sure he was going to regret it, though.

* * *

_And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion . . .never glimpse the truth . . ._

"You li'ul bastards! It's about time we put you in your place!"

Lloyd stood ready in front of his friends, both swords held at a defensive position. Genis prepared to fight next to him, snatching his kendama from where he had put it down. Sheena was still unarmed, but she appeared calm about it. The three generals accosting the teens were also drawing weapons, systematically picking out targets. Lennon, armed with a single long sword and shield, decided it would be best to go after Lloyd. Harrison drew out a fairly heavy axe—nothing the size of Presea's, but it was large enough to get the point out. Ringo had a long trident-tipped spear armed, most likely a spell caster like Genis. It was looking to be an even-sided battle, as far as strategy went.

Sheena dashed into the weapon's cabinet, yanking out the first weapon she could use. What she found was a little unusual, but she could work with it. She yanked out two iron-spiked war fans, using them like a cluster of her cards. Even considering the weakness of her weapon, Sheena had no qualms about going after the axe warrior. She was at least fast enough to get around him, and she could certainly pelt him with a summon spirit if he got too nasty.

"You've got to be kidding me," Genis muttered, feeling claustrophobic, "It's way too small in here!" He gave up, simply throwing himself into battle mode. Deciding on an area attack, he chanted, "_Burn! Eruption!_"

Fire flared up underneath the legs and feet of the three generals. Harrison and Lennon were nimble enough to avoid the majority of the damage, but Ringo got the blunt of the spell. He took it with great fortitude, something to be expected of a high-ranking soldier. Genis flinched a little bit, seeing what pink-flocked Ringo had in store for him. He ducked under a desk as the spell-caster flicked out, "_Take this! Air blade!_"

Lloyd had entered a fast duel with Lennon, dodging and weaving around the yellow-dressed general like a small humming-bird. Both were fast swordsman, constantly repelling weapons off each other's defenses. Lloyd could feel the weight of the other half-elf barreling against him, strong enough to repel it but startled each time. Gritting his teeth, he slashed against Lennon's robes, slicing close enough to draw a thin line of blood from his left arm. It was a good start, finally getting under his defenses.

"You're a good li'ul sod, aren't you?", Lennon snickered, lashing back at Lloyd, "Who taught you?"

Lloyd ripped again, setting off a series of sword rains, "Nobody. Kinda learned on my own." He caught another opening in the man's defenses, yellowing, "_Hurricane Thrust!_" It was just enough to poke some damage through, but it was working.

The half-elf managed to block one strike, laughing, "Home grown variety. How I never tire of their lack of style."

Sheena was gaining a swift upper hand too. Harrison was pretty powerful with his mighty swings, but she was much more agile than he could handle. Most cases, she could simply roll out of the way before his axe head even struck the ground. She could even repel herself away by pushing away on the shaft of the weapon, bouncing like any graceful ninja should. She even had enough luck to tumble under his axe and pop up with a few quick swipes of her own. Sure, fighting with fans was not her forte, but it was close enough to her seals to count.

Harrison couldn't shake her off. He yelled angrily, "Somebody git over here and deal with the li'ul wench!" He took another heavy swing, but she was still too much for him to deal with. It was like trying to hit a fly with a baseball bat.

"Gimme time, gimme time," Ringo muttered, stalking after Genis. The little boy had kept himself hidden underneath computer desks and behind lockers, carefully analyzing his opponent. Every once in a while, the disturbed general would pelt his hiding spot with fireballs, but he always escaped before he could get burned. Running forever wasn't going to be useful to him.

Taking a moment to prepare a spell, Genis revealed his location, "_Get 'em! Spark wave!_" A clot of electrical webbing slashed around the pink general, shaking him off his path. Even with a nosebleed, Ringo didn't look less dogged than he had before. He was prepared to get even with that little twerp.

Ringo growled at the hidden half-elf, "You wanna play games? Fine!" He speared one armory locker through, tearing its door off. With a sharp swing, he smashed it wildly to the side, taking out an entire wall of terminals. Genis didn't escape the blast in time, half-pinned under a table and some monitors. It wasn't enough to kill him, but the blow stunned him. Ringo sneered at the mess, convinced the boy was hurt enough, and he went to assist Harrison.

Caught up in the melee, neither Lloyd nor Lennon paid attention to what happened next. Ringo teamed up with Harrison, both trying to catch the dodgy ninja. The former slammed his spear into the ground, catching the tail end of her ribbons. He shoved her to the floor, hooking it further into her clothing. Sheena tried scratching to freedom, knocking Ringo back with a fairly strong kick. She had almost pulled herself loose when she saw Harrison's axe hovering ominously over her head.

Lloyd screamed when he saw it start to descend, "NO!"

* * *

_We were talking about the love that's gone so cold . . ._

**Thwack!**

Velocity was working against Regal. Painfully. He pushed himself off the ground, his back throbbing. Yes, walls were still solid and definitely could hurt. He hadn't anticipated such a strong first strike, especially not from this thing. It didn't matter too much in the end. All he had to really know was that he had to defeat it. It's what the half-elves were asking him to do, anyway.

The creature that had knocked him back was a fairly large robot, maybe seven feet tall. It didn't have the appearance of any old clunky robot. Rather, it looked like a sleek vulpine animal with metallic fur. Regal didn't exactly know what created the effect—he assumed it could have been some kind of mercury/organic hybrid—but it certainly acted enough like a rabid fox. Another curious feature were the ten tails attached to its backside. He thought it looked like something from Sheena's culture, but he didn't have long to come up with a name for it. They were swinging at him again!

"_Mirage!_", Regal barely avoided the attack, slipping out of their range and away from the beast. It turned its thin face at him, red eyes glowing, and snapped its jaws. Corrine wasn't this violent ever, even for the short time Regal knew him. He bit down on his teeth, dodging another tail slap and launching into a series of whirls and kicks. He looked almost like a large eagle, flying and raking away when he got the chance.

"Curious style, really," the female half-elf spectator murmured, her guards around the exits to the lab, "It's surprising we had a weapon around here that matched the requirements of his fighting techniques."

Zelos said nothing, watching with some panic. He was looking for some way to interrupt the battle before his friend was crushed into submission. His eyes kept darting over to a sword left on the floor, wondering how well he could fight in his condition. He couldn't even heal himself, but he didn't know why. He had his suspicions, but he didn't ask any strange questions about it. _Come on_, Zelos thought to himself, _what would Sheena do?_

He braced one hand on his neck when it finally came to him. The tracking device! It was solidly made of metal, but some of it felt weaker than the rest. If he used that sword, he pondered if he could slice it off his neck. It could be dangerous, but he'd have to try it. At least Regal was still alive—as long as he wasn't in huge trouble, he didn't have to worry about helping him right away. He had to do this as sneaky as possible.

There was a flare of dust bursting from the ground as Regal finally managed to knock the vulpine down. With a strange metallic cry, it scrambled back up. If it had emotions, it was certainly pissed off. Regal prepared to launch another attack when he saw something ominously glowing in the back of the beast's throat. He started running backwards, hoping he could get far enough away before it could—

There was a fierce crackle, and then a thunderous roar. The creature started fuming large bursts of fire from its mouth, a flammable liquid drooling out of its mouth. Regal took some of the blast, barely throwing up a guardian attack before it hit. It sizzled around his energy shield, flames engulfing him on all sides. Some of the liquid splattered against it, hissing as it hit. He had to completely focus his mind, trying as hard as he could to hold his position.

As the fire died down, his bastion finally shattered under so much pressure. He took some more heat, rolling out of the range of the fire. His poncho burned a little on the edges, so he took some time to put that out. Regal grimaced at the attack, watching what the creature was going to be up to next. He wasn't sure if he was going to keep his defense up enough to continue fighting well, but he was going to try. He was always good at that.

On the sidelines, Margari softly commented to her husband and the despondent Chosen, "He's rather good, really. It's hypnotic watching him fight." She crossed her arms and added, "Of course, I always find battle amusing."

"Yes, your bloodlust is something commendable," Cycella dryly remarked, then ran a status check, "The machine's efficiency has dropped to 87. The human still has 84 of his health left. This should be pretty close."

Zelos shuddered, eyeing the sword lying just out of his reach. If he could just get that, he could maybe—

"And quit looking at that thing, Zelos. I'm not letting you help your friend."

The Chosen cursed under his breath, blaming his bad luck, "Rats."

* * *

_And the people who gain the world and lose their soul . . ._

Sheena's eyes widened when she saw what Lloyd had done. With one quick maneuver, he had stepped over the prone ninja and guarded her with both his swords. Even with Harrison's immense strength, the blade of the axe didn't even touch them. Lloyd had caught it, and he managed to keep it up. If he weren't so worried about Sheena, he would have gloated over what he had done. Instead, he threw Harrison back, shoving him aside with one blow, "_Raging Beast!_"

Harrison slammed backwards into one of the locker, tumbling down. He had taken quite a bit of damage from the human's vindication, but he wasn't going to let it keep him down. Lennon guarded his teammate as he caught his breath, guarding him with his round metallic shield. If anything, the three generals knew the meaning of teamwork. They would have been unstoppable, if the half-elf child and his human friend hadn't destroyed their cohort Paul.

"Thanks, Lloyd," Sheena smiled, yanking herself free, "You're always rescuing us."

Lloyd shrugged, somewhat coy, "Eh, it's part of the job description. Besides, you've got to keep your friends safe, no matter what!"

"Really, great speech," Ringo rolled his eyes, unimpressed, "But, isn't it time for ye wee brats to take a dirt nap?"

While everyone else had been having their little taunts and victory speeches, Genis was carefully preparing an attack. Even pinned underneath a computer terminal, he still could cast something. Bouncing his kendama at an odd angle to keep it vertical, he focused his power on an electrical spell, hoping it would short something else out next to the generals. He was risking his own life, but he was wiling to take the chance. It was only just a few more seconds . . .Bingo!

"_I call upon thee in the land of the dead to unleash thy fury of thunder! Indignation!_"

It had worked almost too perfectly. While Genis's aim was horribly off center from the clot of generals, it had appeared right next to an electrical outlet. Lennon and Harrison were missed completely, the circle of lightning magic just barely excluding them. Ringo, however, was not as lucky once again. The tight spiral of electricity rocketed straight through him, snapping out of the outlet and the magical circle and zapping all around its range. Instead of just one gigantic bolt of lightning, he had an additional six or seven bolts dancing around with it. It could not have been any better, even if he tried.

"Huh . . .would you look at that?", Ringo muttered just before toppling over, "That kid's dynamite!"

The pink-flocked general hit the ground unusually stiff. From a forensic standpoint, he had been completely fried through. The spell-caster didn't have a chance in hell. Genis would have jumped up and started partying, but he was still trapped underneath the heavy terminals. He would have to hope that Lloyd would eventually get enough time to help him before he was crushed to death. He was just happy that he had been able to take out one of the pauncing idiots.

Sheena took command of the situation, "Lloyd! Go help Genis. I can take care of myself!"

Lloyd was hesitant to follow, "Are . . .are you really sure?"

"Of course I am!", Sheena laughed, drawing her weapons, "Get going, would you?"

Lloyd went to digging Genis out of wherever he was pinned under the computers. They were ridiculously heavy, but he could pick them off and throw them to the side with some work. He managed to make a barrier between him and the rest of the fight. With a little bit of luck, he found Genis cramped under a small crevice under the desk. Thankfully, he was mostly unhurt. Lloyd hated to think of what Raine would have done if her brother had been killed.

Sheena had the powers of Ninjitsu to her benefit. Not only was she able to evade damage from both Lennon and Harrison—she actually had them hitting each other with their attacks! It was like she was a cat toying with two larger mice. She saw a sword heading for her and stepped to the left, pinning it under her foot. With a quick hit from her fan, she began channeling energy through it and hit Lennon with a flurry of attacks, "You want to mess with me? Fine!" There were all sorts of seal-based attacks flying everywhere, blinding and lowering Lennon's vision.

Lennon back out of her melee range, ordering Harrison, "Block for me! I can't see anymore."

The larger half-elf was more than ready to take on that ninja girl again, but not necessarily expecting the company she brought with her. In a blast of anger and rage, a dark cloud swarmed around the summoner. She snarled at Harrison, still pissed that he had almost decapitated him. She wasn't going to spare him any mercy, especially not now. Summoning all the immediate power she could find within herself, she lashed out for something powerful, "_I call upon the disciple of everlasting ice! Celsius!_"

A light-blue entity popped up out of nowhere, frosting the air and everything around her. Harrison didn't have any time to study why she had come or what she even was. It began gathering bright energy in its hand, an evil glare locked in her eyes. There was a sound of mana finally peaking, and the being screamed, "**It's over!**" She slammed her fist straight into Harrison, bursts of ice enveloping him on all sides. He was frozen in place, unable to move.

Sheena decided not to have mercy today, cracking the ice with one shattering blow. The orange general was instantly killed, bursting apart into little frozen pieces. It was rather gory in the grand scheme of things, but it was the fastest way to get rid of him. Lennon's eyes swelled in fear, not sure exactly what he had just seen. He gasped, "What the 'ell was that?"

"That was a summon spirit, jerk," Genis rebuked, finally freed from his place, "She's got a lot more where that's coming from! I'd suggest giving up if I were you."

Lennon's eyes narrowed on the half-elven boy, fully pissed off, "I thought we'd see a change in you, boy. I suppose being raised with humans has made you tactless." He drew his sword one more time, keeping it at point to the three heroes, "I don't care what you li'ul buggers do with me, but I will not go down a coward!"

Lloyd stepped out in front of both of his friends, ready to protect them. He braced himself for a first attack, watching Lennon suspiciously, "It's too bad it has to end like this. I thought we'd teach you idiots a lesson first!"

The young boy and the half-elven general flew at each other, swords bouncing back and forth off shields and weapons. Even still partially blinded from Sheena, Lennon was beyond excellent with his sword. He and Lloyd growled at each other as they swung, frustrations growing between the two. There were sharp zings across the room, electricity almost searing out. They were beyond furious with each other.

Suddenly, Lennon found a gap in Lloyd's defenses. He went after the boy swiftly, laughing as he attacked, "_Super Sonic Thrust!_" Lloyd tripped backwards, stumbling over some rubbish lying strewn about. He grabbed his left arm, blood flowing out of it. The general stepped on the boy, still chuckling at the kid's trip-up. He just about finished Lloyd off when the ninja and the mage decided that it was time to interfere again.

Sheena jumped on Lennon's back, smacking him with the fan she had found. The yellow general shook her off, switching his attack focus. He drew to attack her when Genis began pelting him with little annoyance spells, "Hey, Lennon! Eat this! _Fireball!_" Slightly singed from the attack, Lennon turned to focus on the half-elf, now confused with the sudden gang-up of spells and attacks. With his defenses down to Lloyd, the human jumped back up and yelled to his team, "Guys, let's do this! Unison attack!"

Genis was the first to start off the unison, the floor melting under his spell, "_Burn! Eruption!_" Sheena quickly followed afterwards, using one of her more preferred seals, "_Serpent Seal Pinion!_" Lloyd was the last to go, deciding to give the general a taste of something familiar, "_Hurricane Thrust!_" He and Sheena came back around to give one final attack, both prepared for this to end. Sheena held Lennon in place, a black cloud of snake-like images cycling around him. She issued the start of their final attack, "You're not going anywhere!" Lloyd drew his sword and dove straight through the blur, aiming true as ever, "_Dark Serpent!_"

Lennon was somewhat surprised to find a sword lodged in the lower bowels of his stomach. He touched the wound, amused for some macabre reason. He nodded, accepting his defeat with some wonder, "Amazing! True teamwork." Slumping over, he pulled out Lloyd's sword and handed it back to the boy, "And to think that humans and half-elves can work together. Imagine that!" Lennon finally dropped to the ground, the final general to die. Lloyd felt sort of sorry for him, but he couldn't really explain it.

"Phew!", Sheena sighed, sitting down for a moment, "And I thought they'd never go down."

Genis seemed relieved too, but only momentary. He remembered what he had originally come back here for, glancing nervously at a blood-smeared clock on the wall. It was about time. He pushed one of the desks back up, hurriedly trying to reconnect the computer with the least amount of damage. Lloyd and Sheena were both in the dark about what he was trying to do.

Lloyd asked, "Uh, Genis? What are you doing?"

"Raine set up a program I'm supposed to set off whenever we've found everyone," Genis explained quickly, hooking the terminal back up. It flickered to life, thankfully, so he continued, "Last time I heard from her, she said that there was going to be some testing going on with her in a nearby lab. We'll have to make our way there after I've fired this thing off. We should be able to pick up everyone there."

Sheena didn't like the sound of this, but she went with it, "Okay. Does she know where the others are?"

"Of course! She told me not to start this thing before we found everybody. Well, I think we've found everybody, so it's time to go," Genis smiled as a password prompt came up, "How good can you guys navigate in the dark?"

That was a task both could do, but they were confused why they had to do it.

* * *

_With our love, we could save the world . . ._

Raine had been in hiding with Presea and Colette for quite some time now. She had originally tried to access Cycella's lab when she heard about the corrupted deal they had struck, but she was denied access by two of Margari's guards. They would not clarify on why she had been blocked out, but she had her reason to assume it was because she had made a fuss about the humans before. She was waiting for them to redirect Genis to her, as that was the commands she left with them. She doubted they would listen, but she had no choice. She couldn't make moves without making sure all of her friends were safe.

"We should try and look for Lloyd," Colette tried to give them something to think about for a while, "If we got him and Sheena, and then picked up your brother, and then get Zelos and Regal, we could leave!"

Raine nodded, having already thought of that, "I'm not allowed access down the prison corridors. The lower-level guards always tell me that they need some kind of clearance code for me to get through. Maybe we could storm it, though."

Presea thought deeply for a moment, "It's possible. At any rate, we must thank you for getting us out of the human containment lairs for a while."

"What have you seen down there?", Raine asked, now a little curious, "Are there other humans? I've only been assigned to work with you two. I saw other records, but I don't know if they are still alive or not."

Colette answered it, somewhat sick with the thought of it, "Well, kind of. They're all . . .brain dead. It's like they're not even capable of thinking."

"They were as I was without my key crest," Presea added sullenly, "It's hard to imagine now what it was like to be that."

That was something Raine didn't like to think about, either. She didn't like the thought of humans still being here, even after eight years without a fresh shipment. They were most likely inbred within themselves, genetics messed up beyond normal. It wasn't like they could even remember what it was like to have free choice. She hated to think that when she and her friends left this place, they'd have to abandon the humans here, too. It was a terrible feeling, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

"I wish we could do something for them," Raine admitted to the two girls, "But there's no way they could be rehabilitated. It would be pointless."

Presea lowered her head, "It is unfortunate. I guess all that matters is that we get out ali—"

_Blip._

Raine heard something bizarre coming from a terminal where she had logged on. Scanning it quickly, her eyes grew with amazement. Someone from another lab had managed to find her logged on and sent her a small message. Reading it, she saw it was from Genis. It went a little something like this:

_Raine--_

_It's on! I've got L & S. Get R & Z! I'll meet you there!_

_--Genis_

"It's on!", Raine forgot herself, nearly screaming. She hurriedly deleted the message and pulled a file out from her self-made drive, checking to see if it was on. Genis wasn't kidding; it was on, a small counter ticking down the time. She had a minute and a half before _it_ would go off. That wasn't going to be a problem getting down to the lab. The problem was going to be getting into it.

Colette was very confused, "Professor, what is that? Did you make a bomb?"

Raine didn't have any time to explain, "Kind of. We've got to move now. We're not going to be doing well if we get caught in the halls in the dark." She then made her demands, "Girls, get your weapons. We're going to get into that lab if we have to tear the door off of it."

"Can do," Presea boasted, hoisting her heavy axe into the air. She waited patiently for Raine and Colette to grab their weapons. Raine led the two girls out into the hallway, searching for any suspicious half-elf troops. All three ducked down, swerving into the next pathway. They ran, making sure to make it in time. Even though they had no idea what Raine was talking about, they were sure she knew what was best for them.

Sure enough, those two guards were still in the way to the lab. Raine didn't have time for stealth or elegance. She commanded her group, "Get them out of the way."

The white and black robed guards were curious about her actions. The white male asked her, "Raine, we have already told you that you are not to have access to this lab at this time. What are you doing?"

Presea cut him down before he asked another question. Since he was completely unprepared for combat, he had no way to avoid her devastating blow. She cleaved him cleanly across his abdomen, killing him instantly. The black guard's eyes glowed with fright, unsure what was happening. She turned to run when Colette struck her in the back, knocking her down with two throws of her chakram. Raine ran up to the downed guard, slamming her staff in the back of her skull. She wasn't sure if she killed her, but the guard was most definitely unconscious. That would have to be good enough.

There was a faint rumbling somewhere in the distance. Raine's face paled, knowing what that was. She ordered the girls, "Get down! This might get a little hectic."

And that's when Raine's little surprise went off.

* * *

_And to see you're really only very small . . ._

Deep within the bowels of the Dycroft Human Ranch, a small little explosion went off. It wasn't the regular homemade brand of explosions, though. No, it was something much more powerful that Raine had cooked up. Through delicate manipulations of robots and electrical wiring, she had created the perfect way to instantaneously deal a fatal blow to the entire operation with minimal damage to the structure. She had created an electromagnetic bomb in the heart of the ranch's base.

To be honest, if Regal had known that, he would have been very thankful to Raine. At that precise moment, however, he was more concerned about not getting killed. He had managed to hold his own against the strange fox robot for some time, sure. Even if he was a stronger human than most, he was still only human. The machine could hold onto its strength much longer than he could endure. Without the ability to heal himself, he was even worse off.

And now, with the machine exploding violently from the electrical pulse, he had to dodge projectile screws and wires. This just wasn't his day.

Margari was beyond pissed, eyes glowing in the dark. She demanded, "Stop the experiment, now!" Cycella seemed unimpressed with his wife's sudden anger, leisurely making sure all electrical systems were offline. She got so uptight about things. The half-elf women sent her guards around, "Get those things off the humans. I don't want them to explode and kill them."

"Explode?", Zelos yelped, his voice rasping, "Oh, goddess, I don't want to die like this!"

Somebody yanked on Regal's collar from behind him, inserting a series of codes on small buttons. It released him, allowing some of his power to surge back. He immediately began recharging his health, although the half-elves didn't seem to recognize what he was doing. It was too dark to see much, anyway. The only lights that illuminated them were green strips of some sort along the walls. They could store light energy and use it later, but only for so long.

Cycella assessed some of the damage on his computers, muttering, "It appears we had a major electrical short out. There is most likely some damage already done to those collars. You're lucky they didn't decapitate the humans."

Zelos would have freaked out about then, but he saw a bright opportunity in the dark. The sword! He could get that sword and fight with it, maybe even get them free. He looked behind him, staring behind the glass-paneled walls to the testing room. Regal was still with those guards, though. It would be tough to sneak both of them out.

"Electrical short out?", Margari growled, unimpressed with that answer, "We have three backup generators! One of them should have turned on by now."

Cycella sighed, not happy with his wife's attitude, "Give me a moment. I'll use the side door to go check on the situation." He slipped out a side-passageway that Zelos had previously not noticed, shoving a hidden panel open. It was a small spiral staircase, most likely a direct route to the electrical floor. That was good to know, but not right now.

Margari sneered as soon as he left, "Electrical short out. Give me a break. We haven't had a massive short out like this before. It almost seems like—wait." She stared at the two humans for a moment, mind cooking. Hadn't one of them slipped up something about having other friends around this place? And what could have created a gigantic disruption like that? No, this was definitely not an accident. Someone had done this under the radar. What about that—

**CLANG!**

Zelos and Regal looked to one door, watching as large dents started appearing through the iron door. It had self-locked when the power went off, sealing all of them inside. Something kept beating against the door, bending it with powerful strength. Regal couldn't believe it, astonished, "Presea?"

"Yes!", Zelos celebrated, doing a small happy dance. He picked up the sword on the floor and slipped it in his sheath while no one was noticing, smirking, "I knew Raine would come through for us. She's always blowing up—" Zelos clasped a hand over his mouth, knowing he had gotten too excited. He had slipped up this time.

Margari snickered, "The half-elf with the human interest? Doesn't that just explain everything!" She turned to Zelos, laughing over the cacophony of the axe scraping against the door, "Well, darling, you certainly have quite a lot of tricks up your sleeve. I'll give you that. But, I'm afraid that enforcing injury on you hasn't really taught you anything."

Zelos's stomach dropped as the half-elf gave the command, "Guards! Kill the other one!"

Regal didn't even think about fighting, instantly jumping up and kicking the first one away from him. He dodged as one came at him with two knives, poncho tearing in the sudden evasion. Another one had a quarterstaff, glowing in the dark with mana-induced electricity. She smashed him in the back, but he was able to trip that one up quickly too. The last remaining one wasn't moving in the dark, eyes narrowed solely at his heart. Regal jumped backwards, anticipating something unusual. An unknown reflex snapped in his arms, bringing them up swiftly in front of his chest. He had unconsciously caught an arrow, dropping it with fright when he realized what trouble he was in. There was no way he could take all four on at once.

"Hold on! I've got your back!", Zelos shouted as best as he could, starting to cast something. Margari yanked him backwards, slamming him into a computer terminal with surprising force. Zelos tried to squirm free, but she jumped on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. She was strikingly good at wrestling maneuvers, keeping him pinned down. If this was another situation, he would have taken the opportunity to try and hit on her, but this was so not the person or the place. He growled angrily, still struggling to get loose. He couldn't let down any of his friends like this!

The one that Regal had originally knocked down was back up, casting a spell in the darkness, "_Grave!_" He saw spires of rock spike up from the ground, leaping as fast as his reflexes could go. His head narrowly missed one, scratched from the attack. Slipping out between the earthen pillars, he stumbled out to find the one with the bow aimed at him again. He rolled to the right, but it was a little slow. One of the guard's arrows flew through the air and struck him in the right arm, a splatter of blood confirming its hit. Regal didn't take time to remove it, instead dodging the lightning warrior as she flew at him again. Many of the attacks zinged past his body, lightning hissing as it failed to reach out and touch him. He kept fighting against this one, unable to shake her off.

Finally, there was a painful connection as the electrically charged staff swung into his stomach. He stumbled backwards, half-bowed over as he continued to fight. There was no time to run away or heal. Struggling against the overwhelming doubt in his mind, Regal finally slipped past the purple guard's attacks and hit her with a strong kick to the knee. With a few twists, he plummeted the fighter to the floor, knocking her away with a spinning volley. It was almost a small victory, but his head was swirling too much to rejoice in it. He was still wiped out from battling the machine, and the blood from his injuries was seeping out too fast.

Which was probably why he didn't hear the ice warrior come until it was too late, "Augh!"

There were two short daggers lodged in his shoulder blades, piercing out the front of his collarbone at slanted angles. Regal felt his eyesight blur, noticing only the faint glint of the knives by the dim green lights. His injury stung coldly, worse after the light blue guard withdrew her blades. He couldn't feel his arms, the swelling pain blocking everything else out. He was losing an abhorrent amount of blood too quickly, arteries throbbing agonizingly. Regal fought the urge to fall, consciousness pushing him to keep fighting. It was only an upper body attack . . .he still had his feet. . .he had to . . . had to. . .

He collapsed.

_Y vida sigue dentro tú y sin tú . . ._

* * *

Author's Note: 

I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, "What the hell is this song?" Well, Within You, Without You is a song written by George Harrison of—you guessed it—the Beatles. I figured it was appropriate, since I had the three Beatles members die in this chapter. It's on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which is incidentally where I got the costumes for these dudes. (You can argue colors on Lennon all you'd like--I can't tell if it's yellow or lime green.) The striking feature about this song is that it's written in a more Indian feel; Harrison had some really good influence from that country. It's a little ditty about mortality, in a way. (And if you're curious—two Beatles are still alive today. That would be Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr.) Call it my death knell. If you want to hear it, I'm sure Yahoo Music has a sample of it or something.

The last line? Well, it's a Spanish translation. You can probably run in through Babelfish or something. It'll probably come out weird. It's the last lyric of Within You, Without You if you want a more exact translation. I've seen the last lyric stated two different ways; doesn't matter if it's 'flows' or 'goes', it spells foreboding doom either way. And it's even eleven syllables like the original lyric! Imagine that.

Really, would this be a DemonFox38 fanfic if I didn't totally kick the crap out of somebody? No pun intended.

Next chapter, expect more of the same—violence, gore, death, cliffhangers, etc. Maybe a couple pairing flavors I haven't delved in before. Zelos fans should enjoy it, to say the least. I might have two or three more chapters, depending on if anyone's interested in an epilogue.

I really should respond to reviews sometime. Maybe before the phantom epilogue. And I'd really recommend any reader take a look at the reviewers' works, too! It's like cheap advertisement (or incentive) to review, doubly so if the author endorses them. Or something. Too much Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, I think.


	8. Hail, Dorothy! The Wicked Bitch is Dead!

Chapter 8: Hail, Dorothy! The Wicked Bitch is Dead!

**CR-RAACK!**

The door finally crumpled under Presea's power, blowing upon with explosive force. Raine was the first to rush into the lab, staff drawn, and gasped at the sight in front of her. Pinned down to a table, Zelos was trying to escape the clutches of that slutty half-elf woman she had seen earlier. He shoved her off him once more, trying to fight against her grappling power. Pale green lights glowed in strips around the room, illuminating the testing chamber across the path. Four half-elves hovered over somebody's limp body, one of them about to finish it off by cracking it on the head with a staff. The human on the floor was non-responsive, bleeding from his upper torso. Somehow, in the back of Raine's mind, something snapped.

She snarled in anger, "That's it! You're all going down!"

It's quite something to see Raine lunge after somebody. True, she was not a very strong or heavy person. But, there was this hidden lioness ferocity deep down within her, coming out from time to time in bursts of anger. Raine was clearly beyond basic rage and had moved into total bloodlust. She flew after Margari, since she was the closest target. Both half-elves hit with a smack, tumbling onto the floor in a whirl of anger and hatred. If it were any other situation, Zelos would have totally been into watching the catfight, but this was clearly not the time for it!

Zelos directed the other two girls as best as his could, voice hoarse, "Take out the other guys! Quickly!" Colette nodded for both of them, tearing off into the opposite lab as fast as they could go. He put some thought into fighting with them, but he had another agenda to attend to first. It was best to send Raine out with them, since she had gobs of healing power and could protect them much better.

The Chosen of Tethe'alla yanked Margari off the ground, shoving her to the side. He instructed Raine about the situation, "I'll take care of this. Go help Regal." Just to prove his point, he withdrew his hidden sword and placed himself as a barrier between the half-elf and his friend. Raine accepted his orders, grabbing her staff from the ground and running after the two girls. Zelos strode alongside her the entire time, making sure she made it into the testing field without interruptions. He was going to make sure his friends were kept safe from the other maniac.

"How cute, Zelos," Margari snickered, pulling her hair out of her face, "You've got two children and a traitorous half-elf on your side. I should have expected it of you, though."

Zelos growled, jaw dropping a little to reveal teeth, "Hey! You had to go and hurt my friends. I'm not making the same mistake twice, bitch!" Going on beyond the pain in his stomach and the burning in his throat, Zelos zipped his way back across to the scientist. She simply smiled and withdrew a hidden weapon from a side-loop on her belt, laughing at his rage. Humans were certainly something when they were mad.

Presea was the first to engage combat with the other four elemental guards, knocking the quarterstaff bearing one away first with a spinning swing, "_Punishment!_" She continued wailing on her, consecutively breaking her defense with two swings in the air. Finally, jumping from high up, she slammed down on the metallic staff, shattering it with her immense strength. The guard would have been cleaved in half too, had she not tumbled to the side at the last second. Presea stood her ground, taking up the spot next to Regal's form where the lightning guard had previously been. She was good at offense, but even greater at defense in times like this.

Colette had taken the other side, bracing for an attack as Raine snuck in behind her. She was taken aghast for a moment by the damage the guards had caused to her friend, asking her teacher, "Professor, what should we do?"

Raine was busy checking Regal's pulse, feeling it slipping away with every heartbeat. She instantaneously brought her staff foreword, beginning to channel her mana. Before completely dropping into her trance, the teacher ordered, "You know what to do, Colette. I'm going to need some time. You can hold them off for a little while if you put your mind to it." A swirl of white mana surrounded the healer, finally locking her into her spell. Colette knew what her Professor meant, but she was terrified by it at the same time. Lloyd had always been there to fight by her side before! Presea had her hands full enough with repelling two guards, so she wasn't going to be able to defend the angelic girl. She was simply going to have to do it on her own.

There was a fierce fire in her eyes, and with an eruption of light from her wings, Colette shrieked, "All right! I'm doing this for you, Lloyd!"

It's generally a good credo in life not to piss off angelic beings because the revenge seriously bites.

* * *

"No, no! Lloyd, not to your—"

It was already too late, "Ow!" Lloyd turned straight into the wall, smacking his face against the iron paneling. He hated doing this ninja crap! Sure, he could hide himself inside of a gigantic base, and he could even take out enemies from behind, but this just sucked! It would help if there were any source of light outside the damn energy-storing strips on the wall, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Sheena shook her head, disbelieving, "Both of you would make crummy ninja." Of course, she had factored in her years of training into her decision, but they still would be crappy ninja. Genis was much too loud and always tripped when he got excited, and Lloyd was blind as a bat in the dark. There were other things she was sure they could handle like using poisoned weapons in battle or summoning the undead spirits for communication. Then there were early-morning katas, tea ceremonies, discretion of words, seppku rituals—the list goes on and on.

"Well, sorry! I guess I'm not made out to be a ninja!", Lloyd growled, then apologized, "Aggh, sorry. I'm just really frustrated."

Genis rolled his eyes, "You're preaching to the choir, Lloyd. I haven't seen any sign of Raine or the others yet. You don't think they got caught, do you?"

"What choir?", Lloyd asked, "Ah—I'm sure the Professor's fine. She can handle herself against anybody."

Sheena still couldn't believe how loud the other two were being, "Can you keep it down? We're going to get caught!"

That really didn't keep the two boys quiet for long. Within fifty seconds, they were arguing about the logic of it all again. Sheena restrained strangling both of them, following Genis's lead down the hallway. He said this lab that Raine was in wasn't too far away. She had to hope that no one else would catch them. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone moving around, but she didn't take it without caution.

Ahead, a door was flung open, torn apart by some large sharp instrument. Genis pointed, looking at it cautiously, "That's the lab. What happened to it?"

"Here, you two get behind me," Sheena instructed, shoving Lloyd and Genis behind her. She had good logic for it, "If there's a sneak attack, I'll be better able to anticipate it."

Lloyd felt like he was being somewhat emasculated, but that was a pretty common feeling anymore. He grumbled under his breath about it, keeping his swords drawn. As much as Sheena boasted about being able to protect herself, Lloyd knew that she could get in over her head. Genis kept cautious next to his friends, eyeing the path that they had come from. There was still no activity. It was creepy how empty the place seemed to be.

And then he saw it! Shadows, coming from behind them! With a nervous reflex, Genis cast, "_Ice Tornado!_" Two beings were caught up in the spell, knocked back and forth by its spinning power. Sheena and Lloyd jumped to his defense, running behind him to find out what had happened. It was only a couple of loose lackeys running around, probably just trying to find their leaders to get further direction. Not taking any time or sympathy, Lloyd and Sheena quickly eliminated the guards with a quick concussive blow.

"This isn't good," Sheena surmised, "There's probably more coming this way."

Lloyd agreed, crossing his arms, "We can't stall. We've gotta help Raine out as fast as we can!"

"Then quit standing out here and jabbering!", Genis scowled, marching into the laboratory, "We're just wasting—aggh! Zelos!"

The Chosen of Tethe'alla clearly had his hands full with fighting Margari. There was a swollen bruise on his face where something round had impacted with it. Taking a look at how terrible he was doing, Sheena noticed probably what caused that injury. A heavy leather cord wrapped around his arms and waist, swirled and tied together by two spherical metal weights. He could barely maneuver his sword with his hands tied down, but he managed to keep the half-elf woman at bay.

Zelos was breathless, but he still happily yelped, "Great timing! I thought you were going to miss out on the party!"

The half-elf woman about ready to strike the Chosen once more cackled, looking at the troop standing in front of the doorway. True, sometimes it was hard to take any of them seriously. Genis wasn't exactly life threatening, since he was cute in a gray teddy-bear sort of way. Sheena was striking to see in the moonlight, but many people underestimated her skills with a deck of cards. Lloyd could have been terrifying if it weren't for the constant giddy smirk on his face. So, seeing what she had to deal with, Margari assumed it wasn't much more bothersome than a few gnats.

The half-elven scientist chuckled, brushing her hair back, "Zelos, what cute friends you have! I hate to have them ripped apart too, but you know how things are . . ."

Zelos ignored the sneering woman, ordering Lloyd and his companions, "Don't worry about me! Go help the girls and Regal! They're in a lot more trouble than me."

Lloyd and Genis were quick to follow his orders, diving to protect Colette and Presea. Sheena hesitated, analyzing the battlefield and Zelos's situation. Six of her friends were now out fighting the elemental guards (including her downed ally under Raine's care.) Zelos was all alone fighting this one woman. Even though she had no idea how powerful this half-elf could be, she couldn't let Zelos fight on his own. He would probably get into some stupid trouble, and then it would just be a mess trying to save him.

Sheena finally decided going against Zelos, like usual, "Like I'm going to leave you to die! What kind of person do you think I am?"

Zelos was shocked, "Hunny? You're going to help me out?" It was almost enough to bring Zelos to tears, although he wouldn't admit it. Sheena was always cruel to him, especially when he made lewd comments about her figure. But yet, even as much as she might have disliked him, she was coming to his rescue! He couldn't believe it! He would have done a little dance if he hadn't been in such a tangle.

"Isn't this cute?", Margari laughed, watching the ninja unravel the bolas wrapped around Zelos, "Who is this, Zelos? Your whore?"

That did it. Sheena was instantly in a rage, "Whore? Oh, that's it!" She yanked Zelos next to her, ordering commands, "We've got some ass-kicking to do!"

Zelos smiled, so happy that his hunny was back, "That's the best thing I've heard from a woman all day!"

Which, of course, prompted a smack on the face from Sheena.

* * *

"—ction!"

He gasped for air, suddenly able to breathe once more. Something swirled in his head, dizzy panic left over from his collapse. He could barely see someone's form outlined in the green light, dimly shrouding her in an alien aura. She seemed relieved, her face smoothing in joy. He couldn't shake the fear in his heart—he knew something bad had happened, but he couldn't remember—but she made him feel safe. Raine had saved his life; he was sure of that, at least.

Raine softly informed him, "Don't move. You're still injured." Carefully, she checked the injuries in his chest, eyes scanning them for damage. They felt hot now compared to the rest of his body, which was shivering with a feverish reaction. Regal started to regain his memory, lulling his head to the side and seeing blood caked in his hair and on the ground. He shuddered, pain becoming more and more real.

"I-I can take care of myself now," Regal argued, sitting upright. He grimaced as his entire upper torso throbbed, trying to maintain conversation, "You need to take care of the others."

Raine didn't take the time to fight with him. Out of the corner of her eye, she had seen one of the guards pull back and release his hand. She yanked Regal backwards, ignoring his cry of pain, watching as two arrows landed into the ground next to them. Regal's eyes widened, surprised at what had happened. His mind wasn't entirely back up to speed yet.

"Colette! Get on that!", Raine snapped, almost scared out of her wits, "You're on defense, remember?"

The angel called out of some corner of the room, "I'm having a little trouble of my—yaaah!" She barely missed being slashed by the ice warrior, flying out of the way at the last second. Presea was managing to keep two of the guards busy, striding between one casting earth spells and the one who had lost her electric staff. Lloyd and Genis had ganged up on the archer, now both trying to keep it from attacking Raine again. Even if they could hold them off for a little while, Raine knew they would need help too. It was a matter of balancing priorities.

Raine growled under her breath, "This is just fabulous. Looks like I might have to trust you on your own."

Regal nodded, somewhat suffocated, "All right. But could you let me go?" Raine had completely forgotten she had Regal held back from the shots, somewhat smothering him in the folds of her cloak. She chuckled a little bit, releasing the prisoner from her grasp and standing upright. Both stood up at the same time, Regal slightly wobbly from the lack of blood. He still had his mind set on defending his friends, shielding Raine's back from any projectile fire. Giving into his weakness, he began casting his own healing mantras, hoping he could recover himself enough to protect the others.

Presea backed up and around the electrical guard again, avoiding a crackle of lightning. Somehow, this guard was able to channel her own mana into her fists. She snapped around the little girl, a spark of electricity flying with her. Presea narrowly avoided the silver ribbon of energy, side-stepping the charge. With quick judgment, she decided to swing her axe as hard as she could. There was a satisfying crunch as she made impact, holding her position. She had cleaved the mage straight in her ribs, nearly ripping her in two as she pulled her weapon back out. One down, three to go.

Something slashed over Lloyd's head, so fast he barely had to time to duck. Looking behind him, he saw a pale-blue flocked guard sneering, blood on her knives. Lloyd growled slightly, leaving Genis's side to have a spat with the icy mage. She was light-blurring fast, catching Lloyd's parries and shoving him off with unnatural grace. Lloyd wasn't used to this sort of combat, but he had his advantages with strange opponents. If his intelligence were weighed upon the skill of his sword, he would have a doctorate at the very least. Besides this, Lloyd still had some leftover rage from his battle with the three generals. These guys were not nearly as strong as them—they were going to go down quickly.

And yet . . .when they had united, they had almost done in his friend. He would have to be wary about that.

Sheena had her hands full defending Zelos from the half-elven scientist. While she was more than a match speed-wise, she had problems from Margari's bolas attacks. It was almost like fighting with her hometown's nunchaku, but much heavier and more cumbersome. It impressed her that someone as light as that woman could use them so rapidly. Zelos wasn't nearly as moved, still untangling himself from her previous attacks. His throat was really beginning to act up, and he felt like he was going to vomit fireballs. Resting for a moment, he decided to back Sheena up with magical support.

"Hold on, babe! I'll help you out!", Zelos cheered, somehow smiling over the pain. With a few flicks of his wrists, he had a spell prepared and firing, "_Air Thrust!_" The compact ball of zephyrs sliced through the air and around the half-elf, tossing her backwards over a lab table. Zelos snickered, finally getting payback, "Booyah!"

Sheena had to laugh a little too, "Zelos, I appreciate the humor, but we need to focus!" It was hard to describe her feelings for Zelos. In a way, she loved him as a friend, and in another, she wanted to rip his voice box out. Most of the time, he was good help to a fight, and he would even defend her like a ridiculous knight. It made her feel very strange, like if she could maybe trust him. _Maybe_.

Margari snarled angrily, pulling herself up over the fallen table, "You humans really are a filthy lot." Making a few arcane gestures with her hands, she came up with an appropriate punishment, "_Bloody Lance!_" Spires of evil energy shot out of dark balls, aiming for a pattern on the floor. Sheena pushed Zelos out of the range of the attack, taking a few blows through her clothes. Her leg throbbed again, Lloyd's bandage unraveling in the blow and the wound reopening and tearing worse. It was going to be a mess if she didn't tend to it again.

Zelos gasped at Sheena's wound, settling her on the floor, "My hunny! When did this happen?" Ignoring the oncoming threat casting spells at them, he focused on healing Sheena's leg. Margari ignored his casting, whipping up something of her own in the meantime. Just as Zelos's magic circle flared on the ground, "_Healing Stream!_" there was another cry, "_Dark Sphere!_" Unholy energy seared around him, blasting him backwards with evil force. His stomach burned, flopping uneasily from the blow. He dry-heaved, shaking a little afterwards. Defiantly, he stood back up and prepared to defend. He wasn't going to let this stop him from protecting Sheena!

The ground of the lab tore up in a quickly snuck in magic attack, "_Ground Dasher!_" Gravel flew up through the metal, rumbling through the middle of the lab. Its power shook Raine and Regal as if they were limp dolls, tossing them aimlessly away. Colette flew up over the attack, grabbing Lloyd and Genis's hands at the last second. Rage slowly cooking in her soul, she dropped them carefully down and pursued the earth mage. Colette dove through the air, chakram held crossed over her chest. The guardian watched with awe as the angel tore down, screeching, "_Whirlwind Rush!_"

Blood splattered on the walls as Colette took the second kill, spinning through the second guardian. Lloyd never really had a reason to fear Colette before, but this could give him something to be concerned about. Never the less, he cheered, "Colette! Great job!" Colette was slightly shocked, but smiled anyway. She never thought she could get so mad before! It felt good to be able to protect her friends for once!

The moment of celebration did not last long. Pulling back his bow in the green darkness, the wind guardian sent a stream of arrows flying across the room. One struck Colette in the calf, and Lloyd repelled two back with his sword. Genis growled, holding up his kendama with one hand and taunting the enemy with the other. He began bouncing the small red ball back and forth, preparing something nasty. Just as he was about to finish his spell off, something shuttled into his kendama! Looking over, he saw a green-fletched arrow in his weapon. He yelled at the guardian, "Jerk! Now you're going to get it!"

"Raine, help," Lloyd called out for his professor, "Colette's injured!" Raine shook herself off from the previous attack, almost knocked senseless by its blow. Regal pushed himself up after her, shoulders hurting but not as bad as before. As he was following her to assist Lloyd, a light blue blur hopped in between the mage and the fighter. Raine's eyes widened as she spun around to see a sneering guardian with two knives held threateningly close to her body. Half running and rolling away, Raine tried to escape the next blow as best as she could.

Lloyd sidestepped Raine, jumping in to pin the guard between himself and Regal. With a swift parry, he knocked both of the icy daggers out of her hands, "_Sword Rain Beta!_" He swung around to deliver a killing blow, but only stabbed mid-air. He gasped in surprise, watching as the guard had preformed the splits to avoid him. With a recovery spin, she kicked the young boy back and grabbed her knives all in one swift move. A second later she had passed backwards through Regal's body with a sly technique, "_Mirage!_" The older man had no idea what the guard was up to until he felt two blades interlock across his throat, bending him down to her height with her force.

Hissing through her teeth, she snickered, "How many times do I have to stab you until you die?"

Regal was surprisingly calm, looking over to Lloyd for assistance. The boy read something in his eyes, suddenly unafraid. He held both his swords precariously, still maintaining his guard between Colette, Raine, and Regal. Carefully judging his position, Regal lightly nudged against the blades, finding out how much room he had to do this. Finally, there was a cry, "Lloyd, now!"

Catching the knives with his hands, Regal pushed the blades away from his throat and flipped upwards. Simultaneously, Lloyd plunged both of his swords into the body of the ice warrior, throwing his entire weight into it. He let go of their handles as Regal landed on the flats of the blades, carefully sliding backwards and off the swords. Lloyd yanked both weapons back out of the guardian, finishing her off with two vertical swipes. The guard collapsed to the ground, partially dissected into three parts. It was hazardous, but it had worked.

There was no time to think, Colette screaming, "Lloyd, look out!" Quickly bending down, Lloyd narrowly missed being blasted by a bright red beam of light. The final wind guard was charging his own mana into the weapon, lasers pulsing out instead of his normal arrows. Regal dodged another shot, barrel rolling to his left. Colette began casting a spell next to Raine, ignoring the pain in her leg. Her teacher and Genis joined in the spell casting as Lloyd went to keep the archer busy for a few moments. The guardian launched a bombardment of arrows into the air, raining down around the swordsman. He knocked a few away with blunt blows, Regal repelling a few with the metallic wrists of his shackles. Presea swiftly joined their ranks, approaching the enemy swiftly. It was only a few more seconds—Lloyd could make it in time!

Seconds before the archer could shoot the humans at point blank, Lloyd broke his initiative. With a quick stab and a vertical spin, the boy splintered the bow into thousands of pieces, maiming the guardian's hands at the same time. Presea finished off Lloyd's attack, spinning a few moments in the air before pounding into the ground with her gravity-defying strength. Behind her, three feathered chakram soared around the human and slashed into the body of the guard with a holy spell, "_Angel Feathers!_" The last of the guardians went down in a bloody heap of gore, unable to defend himself as his friends were destroyed around him. It was sickly ironic to what he had done barely five minutes ago, trying to murder a lone human.

"You really are a pain, you know that?", Margari swung at Zelos with a recovered bolas, striking his sword, "You just couldn't be a good little boy, could you?"

Zelos angrily snapped back, "Hey, I'm the first person to admit I'm screwed up, but lady, have you taken a look at yourself lately? What kind of bitch plays a guy around by threatening his friends, anyway? That's really un-ladylike, you know."

There was another gong of metal smashing against metal, Margari narrowly missing Zelos once more, "Impudent little fly. I should have known better than to trust humans!" She wound up and finally crashed into Zelos, knocking him down with a heavy thud. He kept holding onto his sword, cackling even with a split lip. He was getting to her!

Sheena prepared to draw Margari's fire away from the Chosen for a while, slipping to her left and pelting her with a blast of cards. The half-elf seemed to be able to withstand it, not picking up any status penalties. She sneered at the ninja, taunting, "Is that all you've got? Cards? Ha!" Sheena growled like a snapping fox, slapping another seal onto the half-elf, "_Serpent Seal Pinion!_"

Through Sheena's anger, something finally overcame the half-elf's defense and blinded her in a cloud of hazy black smoke. Zelos saw a drop in her stance, noticing the perfect opportunity to attack. Jumping off the floor in a beautiful arch, Zelos drew his sword back and aimed straight for Margari's torso. With a vengeful scream, Zelos yelled, "_Hurricane Thrust!_" His sword struck her in the lower abdomen, drawing a great deal of blood. With a second turn-about, the ninja and the Chosen united for one final attack, "_Dark Serpent!_" There was a blast of black serpentine smoke, and then Zelos erupted through the cloud with unearthly grace. His second strike was critical, lodging straight into the center of the half-elf's chest. There was a crunch of bone, and then a ghastly moment of silence.

**ZchedurEEEEEEH! **A cacophonous zing of electricity fired up all at once, blasting out of the dead terminals and popping lights all around. Zelos shielded Sheena from the sudden disturbance, sparks singeing his skin. Lloyd and his companions quickly exited the testing portion of the lab as fast as possible, dodging the current as they went to join Sheena and Zelos. Raine and Genis instantly sensed something wrong, looking up to the lights. The professor shook her head, "This is impossible! An EMP is supposed to destroy all electrical equipment in its proximity!"

"You're a smart witch," Margari cackled, pulling Zelos's sword out of her chest and throwing it back at them. She wobbled backwards, placing her hand on the tables to guide her. The half-elven scientist had no mercy for the sad lot, "My husband is feeding live mana from his own body into the reactor of this place. There will be enough power surging through here to get us back to Lord Rodyle. You have no chance of escape!"

Lloyd shook his head, confused, "Rodyle? He's dead! What are you talking about, lady?"

There was a moment of hesitation in the half-elf's reaction, and then more terrible laughter, "You lie! You're nothing more than a filthy human!" She coughed, blood spilling out of her mouth, "This will be your tomb, even if I won't see it! Nobody messes with Desian technology and lives! Glory to the age of—"

**THWACK! **Through the tiled ceiling, huge coils of metallic objects began to burrow down. They were the heavy robotic arms that had torn apart the older section of the lab. Acting schizophrenically from the sudden surge of electrical mana, they randomly began ripping apart the lab with no concern for life. One of the arms smashed straight on top of Margari, plummeting from the floor above and continuing to slam endlessly down. Raine watched in terror as the arms kept falling, hearing something shatter in the distance.

With great fear, Raine murmured, "They're breaking the entire ranch apart! We'll drown if it starts flooding and we don't escape!"

Genis and Colette screamed with panic, both clinging onto Lloyd. Zelos looked like someone had socked him in the gut, eyes confused and hurt. Presea and Sheena seemed rather calm despite the situation, glancing for some kind of escape. Regal tried to keep the group prioritized, "How did you plan for us to abscond originally, Raine?"

Whipping out one of her many computer-printed maps, she explained while dodging debris, "There's a small fleet of submarine vehicles approximately a mile down from here. If we take the route through the reactor core, we could probably get there in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?", Genis freaked out, "We could all drown by then!"

Lloyd shook his head, frustrated, "We don't have any other choice. All right, Raine! Lead the way!"

Zelos pointed out the door he had seen before, "I think that Cycella guy took that door down to the reactor room. We could probably try to kill him on our way out!"

"This is inconvenient, but I suppose it will have to do," Presea sighed, filing behind the half-elven professor, "We are going to be dangerously low on force, however. I doubt with the injuries we have sustained we will do well in combat."

Raine nodded, shoving open the door. There was a long set of metallic stairs winding almost out of sight, much to their dismay. Lloyd led the charge down the stairs, followed by Raine, Colette, Zelos, Sheena, Regal, Presea, and Genis. He was concerned that over half his friends had an injury that would seriously impede their power in battle. Genis didn't have a functioning weapon either. However, he felt like he had fought under worse circumstances. He almost thought he would have had to fight Yggdrasil alone—this was nothing compared to that dreadful day!

They had made it a good part of the way down when Sheena heard something squeak under her weight. Glancing down, she swore, "Ah, kuso!" The metal behind her bent further down, making Genis stumble into Presea's back. With a sudden crack, the metal broke apart form the railing, toppling foreword into the dark abyss below. Somebody shrieked, but their cry was lost in the din of it all. It was all silver and black, a sudden break from normal reality into free-floating fear.

And then it was dark and quiet, except for the glow of orange and pink wings.

* * *

Author's Note: (but wait! There's more!)

Yes, it's that one dreaded time of day where I leave you guys with a cliffhanger! But, there is still another chapter ahead! And, well, you've got to find out how the group gets out, right? Or doesn't. Mwa ha ha, I'll never tell!

Everyone's got someone to worry about, right? Well, except for the Kratos fans. I kind of gypped them out in this story, I guess. There's always more Kratos fanfiction, though! And there will be a special little surprise later on for fans of a different sort of blue-haired man . . .half-elf . . .whatever.

Margari had to die. Case closed. Anti-climatic? Yeah, but it's still going to get nastier. Back in my old days of writing (okay, 3 years ago), I used to do more good-based fan characters. I find that I just like it better to write villains. I mean, if someone hates your villain, then you've done your job! It's just hard to write good people without have them flipping the Mary-Sue coin. It can be done, yes. Done well? Depends on the author. I know some people liked some of my good characters in the old days, but it's just easier to beat on villains. Plus, they're more fun to write. Again, mwa ha ha!

Anyway, we've at least got one more battle to go, not to mention escaping from a flooding human ranch! Wait, doesn't this sound familiar? . . .heh heh heh. I wish Rodyle's ranch was a little more complex, but it works. I also think Zelos, Regal, Presea, and Sheena should have gotten in much more trouble in the game than they did. I mean, every three steps, it seems like Colette had a problem! I like new focuses, though, I suppose.

Well, stick around. We've got pizza and Pepsi coming. Or Coca-Cola. Whatever floats your boat/ice cream.


	9. Human Error

Chapter 9: Human Error

Lloyd wasn't ever afraid of dying, although at this exact moment he was a little freaked out. He legs dangled heavily below him, someone's arms hugged around him tightly. Somebody else had his arms, holding him carefully from above. He was scared to look and see what had happened, but he didn't have a choice. He slowly opened one eye, and glanced up to see a smiling Chosen of Sylvarant.

"It's okay, Lloyd! I've got you!", Colette beamed, pink wings fluttering swiftly around her. Lloyd sighed in relief, noticing Presea and Raine had caught onto him before they fell too far down. Zelos was flapping angrily next to Colette, struggling to keep aloft. He was clutching Sheena by her shoulders, pressing her into a rather uncomfortable spot. Regal had caught onto Sheena's legs, Genis holding onto the back of his poncho. They had all been saved in time.

Zelos grumped, "We've gotta land. I can't hold this up much longer." Staring down into Sheena's shirt, he smiled, "Then again, I'm willing to give it a shot." The ninja would have slapped him, but that would have compromised her safety.

Raine took a glance around the green and black hole, noticing how far down they had to go yet. She decided to advise something a little risky, "All right, Colette and Zelos? Do you remember how a parachute works?"

"Yeah, but why?", Colette asked, her load starting to get a little heavy.

Raine shook her head, not believing what she was about to say, "I want you two to fall for a few feet, and then re-deploy your wings. It'll lessen the strain."

Genis and Lloyd were just about to argue against that tactic when both Chosens decided to go along with Raine's plan. They screamed as they plummeted for some feet, Sheena and Presea's shrieks joining theirs. Another flash of mana went off and the Chosens began to de-accelerate their rate of fall. There was heavy flapping, and then something metallic braced their feet. They looked down to see they had landed on solid ground.

"Whew! Go me," Zelos half-cheered, voice acting up again, "Let's not try and do that again, hunnies, mmkay?"

Raine wiped her brow, somewhat still shocked from the sudden touch-and-go mission she had set up. She was beginning to think she had over-killed their distraction device by setting off an EMP bomb. And for some crazy reason, there was still faint electricity coming from the reactor core! How could that be? It didn't make a lot of sense from a technical standpoint, even if Lord Cycella could be some kind of supreme mad scientist.

Then, there was the matter of Raine's teammates, "Please excuse me while I vomit." Regal's stomach whirled as he threw up on the edge of the spiral corridor, moderately airsick. Both he and Zelos received the worse injuries, one partially dissected by a mad half-elf and the other nearly killed by her lackeys. Colette and Sheena both had leg injuries, although Colette could fair better because she could fly in battle. Genis didn't have a functioning weapon, although he hadn't tested casting spells through the broken kendama yet. That left just herself, Lloyd, and Presea as the only fully-functioning members that could be able to fight. It was not looking promising for the home team.

Raine finally decided to get her teammates healed, at least a little bit, "Okay, everyone, get close." The friends all huddled together as Raine cast a bright blue sphere around them, "_Healing Circle!_" Some of their wounds began to heal shut, but it was still going to be a difficult task. At least they'd have a little more strength.

Sheena sighed, brushing back some of her black hair, "Well, Lloyd, we need a game plan."

"Right," Lloyd nodded, thinking for a moment, "How much time do we have left?"

Raine shook her head, watching as water began to trickle down the gargantuan corridor, "Nine minutes, maybe. This isn't going to be pretty if we're caught down here in an electrical short-out."

"Okay, then let's do this fast," Lloyd was always the best leader when he had very little room for error. He quickly made a series of commands, "I'll take the front lines with Presea. Colette and Sheena, if you two can fight, you're up with us too. Raine and Genis should stay in between the front and back flanks, and you guys can do whatever you think you need to do. Zelos, Regal, hold back and don't fight unless it's necessary. I can't risk anyone getting killed."

Zelos whined, "Oh, come on, Lloyd! It's not like we're made of glass or something. We'll be fine."

Raine smacked Zelos upside the head, countering him, "Just shut up and listen to Lloyd. We don't have time to argue. Besides, you two can keep casting spells."

Presea gently reminded the group, "We should do this as fast as possible. Proceeding to break down the door." Dragging her heavy axe, she swung at the door with incredible speed. It nearly cleaved the door open with the first swing; the second one was just to shove it open. Surprised with how flimsy this door was compared with the one entering the lab, she entered first. Lloyd quickly followed her, and everyone took their fighting positions.

Zelos still had to be a little stubborn about being kicked to the back row, "Hey, do you think that door was already unlocked?"

The room they entered was roughly a third the size of the shaft they had fallen through, electricity coursing through everything with a bright green color. Wires veined the walls, running through the electrical nucleus and back up to an unusual structure. It was olive green and sickly, bright orange globs growing out of the sides and conducting energy. A set of terminals lined around it, feeding out from the grotesque column. Standing at the bottom of it, hands pressed against the terminals, was Lord Cycella.

He stopped doing his actions as the group approached him, ceasing channeling mana into the structure. Fiery eyes greeted them through a haze of hatred, "So, you have come. I can only assume you bested all our security devices."

"If by that, you mean we killed your wife and her psychotic guards, then yeah," Zelos growled, "I've got to pay you back for that, by the way."

Cycella seemed to ignore that comment, still brooding over the terminals, "I of all people should have seen this coming. Lord Rodyle is not without his enemies. Clearly, between Cruxis and all of the Grand Cardinals, I picked the worse one to side with. But, I suppose that doesn't matter, does it?"

"You're pretty relaxed for someone who's about to die," Genis smirked, crossing his arms, "And you might as well know that we did Rodyle in. In fact, we've eliminated all the Grand Cardinals and we're just about done disassembling Cruxis."

"An efficient group, you are," he slightly smirked, turning away from the group, "I should have sensed something being wrong. After all those years of silence, after seeing Combatir's records compared with Rodyle's files of her sister . . .it all makes sense. We failed to please that leech, and he took our technology and left us to die." He half-heartidly chuckled, addressing Presea, "From what Rodyle let me see of your sister, she was an excellent fighter as a post-human specimen. She would just lose her mind whenever we tested her, and then she'd rip her opponents limb from limb and—"

Presea snarled at the half-dazed scientist, "Don't say another word. I'm here to end your occupation—let me do it quickly."

The half-elf raised one hand, laughing, "Just saying, child. Besides, with the way things have been going, the best I can do is stall you for a few minutes until this entire base is destroyed. I always wanted company when I died."

Raine shook her head, nervously counting what little time they had left, "Lloyd, we don't have time for this. Let's just kill him and get it over with."

Lloyd was prepared to finish off the last obstacle when Cycella stopped him, "You obviously don't know what you're doing. Look up." He address the strange, convulsing mass above him, "Do you know what this is? It is the source of life for this ranch. If it were to fail, the entire island would have never evolved the way it did, and it would have sunk into the ocean. Since you have so expertly killed all the power sources here, I am the only thing keeping it under control. To kill me would be to destroy the entire island—are you willing to risk that?"

"We don't have a choice," Colette simply stated, "We have to go home. We have to save Tethe'alla and Sylvarant! You're going to hurt both worlds if we can't leave!"

Cycella was mildly startled with the girl's simple words, "So, you really do know of the binary nature of the worlds." He continued brooding for a few moments, considering the possibility of eliminating all of them. He didn't have any real weapon handy, so, his resistance could be fruitless. Looking back at the mass of nerves wired into the computer termanial, he realized only it could have the chance of defeating them. Everyone else was dead, and he was considered so as well. He murmured, "But then again . . . living would be pointless to me . . ."

Then he noticed it. A drop in the sword boy's guard! Lashing out with one quick blow, he yanked Lloyd's hand and ripped the sword from it. Lloyd jumped back in surprise, nearly dropping the other one as he went. It was lucky he had reflexes like that—Cycella swiped at the boy, barely missing a critical blow. Lloyd grabbed at his chest, watching some blood come. It stung, but it wasn't too much of a problem.

Taunting the boy, Cycella sneered, "Well, do you all value your lives so? We under the Cruxis order know only to keep our lives as long as they are useful to the order. And as you have said, my death would be meaningless . . .except it would trigger our operation to demolish you."

Regal's eyes grew slightly, "Operation? Do you mean a self destruct sequence?"

"As in, something set up and run by computers? Goodness sakes, no," Cycella laughed at the idea, "You can never trust technology. Then again, you can't trust organisms, either. Let's call this a compromise." He drew Lloyd's sword back, pointing it at his own chest, "You have all got a much bigger problem to deal with now."

Lloyd saw the set-up coming, but reacted too late, "No, wait!"

**Squish.**

It wasn't quite obvious whether or not Cycella was just plain suicidal. Considering that he had just shoved a sword through his own chest instead of fighting, one would think that may he was just a little self-destructive. However, his plans became a little clearer with his next and final command, "Initiate project Rubber Soul." He slumped to the ground, sliding the sword back out and tossing it aside. The electronic terminals behind him whirled to life, answering with a calm but metallic woman's voice, "Project Rubber Soul initiated. Absorbing remnants."

Fleshy tendrils unfolded from the central mass, running down and grabbing Cycella's corpse. Zelos spoke his groups opinion as it picked up the body and drew it into its own being, "Ah, man. . .we're in for it now." A second later, the column of green flesh oozed into a large clot on top of the room, dripping down the walls. The orange stones attached to it began to glow, electricity zipping in and out. Arms started to grow, peeling away from the ceiling as it grew. Then there were legs, wings, eyes, horns, tails—it was a mass of evolution sticking all together. Colette shivered as she saw small viper-like faces popping out of its skin, hiding behind Lloyd. This wasn't right at all!

"Look at that!", Raine gasped. The ceiling began to bow under the weight of the fleshy amorphous being. It began to solidify, large muscular arms and legs forming about where a human would have theirs. Orange stones began to sink under its skin, three remaining in its face. Some strange tentacle growths grew out of its back, multiple twitching masses stretching out. Its skin darkened, become an abyssal forest green infinity close to black. There was a tear of skin, and then a mouth formed from one of the facial stones. It slobbered, a long red tongue sticking out of dozens of jagged teeth.

And then it laughed, "_Told you that you weren't going to like it_."

Lloyd's jaw dropped, "What the? Is that thing—Cycella?"

"It's assumed his personality, at least," Raine prepared to battle, holding her staff steady, "Lloyd, we don't have much time to fight this. We have to keep moving!"

Lloyd nodded, picking up his fallen sword and addressing the problem, "I know. We can't let this thing get out, though!" Everyone assumed their positions, Presea, Colette, and Sheena taking the frontlines. Raine, Genis, Regal, and a reluctant Zelos stood behind them, preparing to support with what mana skills they had left.

**THWACK! **Lloyd barely rolled out of the way before large tentacles smashed into the ground where he had once stood. Two more pierced the ground, popping up behind Colette and Presea and tossing them aside. Another group entangled Sheena, others slipping out and snatching the half-elves. More of the strange oily ligaments grew out of its back, stretching inhumanly long and slamming Zelos and Regal into the wall. It was like Rubber Soul was made of thick liquid.

Lloyd threw one of his swords in desperation, cutting through the tentacles slithering towards Colette and Presea. He leapt overtop two coming at him, jumping gracefully across and slicing Sheena free. Once the angel and the little girl had regained their stance, they launched an offense against the other remaining black appendages. Presea chopped through a set coming towards Genis, barely fast enough to stop another that was coming back for her. Colette tossed both her chakram as quick as possible, the holy emblems zinging through Raine's restraints and traveling upwards in a graceful spiral. They boomeranged back, slashing Regal and Zelos free.

The Chosen of Tethe'alla wasn't amused by this at all, "Lloyd, sorry to piss you off, but there's no back-row defense! I'm coming up!" He slid swiftly in between two stumped ligaments, racing up to the front lines and taking direct offense.

Lloyd recovered his other sword, shaking his head, "I can't believe this, but whatever. Zelos, do what you want!" He stepped back to avoid an overly stretched uppercut, trying to focus on Rubber Soul's body, "We have to think of something else, anyway!"

Genis tried to settle in and cast a spell, but he noticed a very large problem first. The black stumps of flesh that Lloyd, Colette, and Presea had hacked away jumped to life, reconnecting in one black glob. It slunk underneath the half-elf, tripping him as it rushed by. The glob bounced back into Cycella's body, fusing back in. Genis gasped, "Ah! It's regenerating!"

"_You're smart, you know that?_", Cycella laughed, jumping from his position on the wall to the floor. In a burst of mana, he stretched the tendrils from his body out in all degrees. Everyone was blown backwards, landing awkwardly on the floor. He cackled maniacally, taking extra time to beat on the boy, "_You're going to have to try much harder to defeat me!_"

Sheena came up with a rapid plan, still using the crummy fan weapons she had from earlier, "Colette! I need you to cast something electrical after I attack, okay?" The angel synced up with summoner, prepare to something from a distance. Sheena flew head-first at Project Rubber Soul, screaming, "_Demon Seal!_" There was a hiss of light mana, and a small portion of the tentacles came undone with a sickly sound. Colette tossed four spiked balls of electricity after her, "_Torrential Para Ball!_" They splattered against the creature, small zaps cauterizing the wound. The flapping parts that lie on the ground tried to reattach, but couldn't. Instead, they flopped lamely around on the ground until they withered away.

Cycella growled in pain, but didn't retort the girls. Instead, with a half-crazed smirk, his tongue swaggered out of his mouth. It shot out and wrapped around Sheena's ankle, dragging her backwards. With a nauseating sound, his mouth ripped open wider. The ninja shrieked as she was engulfed, drug down into the dark substance of his body. The creature lurched heavily, crawling back on top of the generator room and attacking once more with his tentacles.

"Sheena! No!", Lloyd yelled, trying to find a quick way to attack Rubber Soul. He had to give up for the moment, ducking a barrage of black tentacles. Colette tried casting some ranged attack, but was quickly knocked to the side by the sudden waves of black appendages. Zelos growled, barely holding back the attack from his face with his bare arms. It seemed like way too much momentum to fight against.

Genis tried to come up with something, casting through his broken kendama. It fizzled flat, unable to channel through. His sister understood what he was trying to do, and ordered her companions, "Zelos! Regal! Lloyd! Get up front, and attack when I say!" Presea defended Raine from the onslaught of tentacles while she cast her spell. The three guys were barely able to hold onto their positions, shoved back by great force. They looked like they weren't going to be able to dig in much longer, heels shrieking against the metal floor.

And then there was the signal, "Now!" A bright burst of mana clotted around Rubber Soul as Raine gave them all the temporary break they needed, "_Photon!_" In the millisecond it took for the pause to occur, all three men were up in the air. Regal was the first to connect, feet whirling, "_Swallow Dance!_" Zelos soared up next, spinning through to strike, "_Victory Light Spear!_" Lloyd came up last, aiming perfectly for the creature's back, "_Rising Falcon!_" There was a subtle crunch as Rubber Soul lost its position, dropping down from the ceiling with a heavy crash.

There was a strange bulge in Rubber Soul's side, growing out of nothing. A small blast of mana broke its skin, and a purple-gloved hand scratched outward. Lloyd yanked Sheena free from the monster's form, watching how its skin tried to heal over the hole before she was even out. It was a tight squeeze, but Lloyd finally pulled Sheena loose, dragging the terrified ninja out of range. Zelos defended them as they regained their bearings, Sheena extremely pale.

"Be careful," she panted, shaky in her stance, "It's a siphon. I think it drained a lot of my mana." With the glazed look in her eyes, Lloyd agreed with her hypothesis. He picked up where she had left off, making sure that she could recuperate for a few seconds. Raine quickly attended to her, trying to heal her up as fast as possible.

Rubber Soul switched targets, raking against the three men that had last challenged him. He knocked Zelos away awkwardly, flipping and landing flat on his back. Lloyd blocked the first blow, eyes shimmering with rage, but couldn't take the next hit. With a sickening sock to his stomach, the creature blasted Lloyd backwards into the terminals. Regal slipped past the gigantic cannons of fists, rolling under the attack and knocking the creature off its feet with a low roundhouse swipe. He couldn't escape the area under the beast fast enough, tentacles wrapping around his torso before he could move. Rubber Soul smashed him around its body and back into the ground, knocking the breath out of him.

A vindictive growl emerged from a small pink-haired girl, "You're not getting any further." Presea slid into combat, easily whirling her gigantic axe around her head. Ignoring the oncoming tentacles, the girl's weapon sundered into the appendages and slammed straight into Rubber Soul's side. Ripping it backwards, she smashed her axe into the ground, rubble flying and striking the monster away. Blue energy surged out from her as she roared, "_Beast!_" It blew the monster into the opposite wall, scrambling for the floor to stand upright.

Lloyd cheered Presea on before rejoining her, "All right, Presea! We're definitely getting closer now!" Colette quickly rejoined Lloyd, now planning to switch back into a more martial range. Genis and Raine continued to protect Sheena, the elder of the two working hurriedly to get the ninja back on her feet. Zelos hopped over to defend both of them while Regal split from the back and rejoined the front ranks. They at least now had it on the ropes.

"_I don't want to be a party pooper, but looks like you're running out of time,_" Cycella's voice hissed, almost like a ghostly laugh. Water began to seep down from the top of the room like a misty rain. Raine gasped in surprise, almost forgetting why they had to hurry, "Lloyd! We have less than five minutes before this entire place is flooded! We have to run!"

Lloyd tried to come up with a plan, but was at a lose, "Damn-it! What do we do now?" He kept looking around aimlessly, wondering out loud, "Raine, where are we supposed to go?"

Exasperated, Genis yelled, "Just find a way down, Lloyd! That's all we need!" He quickly analyzed the floor, wondering how strong it was. If it had anything below it, it was probably all ducts and electrical wiring. But they were running out of time, and it wasn't like Cycella's incarnation was going to let them leave through the doors. There wasn't much time to try anything else, though. Genis ordered sharply, "Presea! Regal! Break through the floor with a downward attack. Your momentum should be able to damage it!"

"Understood," Presea cut Genis off, rather cold as she normally was in combat. The girl aimed for the ground when Rubber Soul grabbed her ankle, yanking her upwards in the air. Lloyd grunted impatiently, charging after the beast. Going against his gut feelings, Regal gathered his own strength and began preparing to blast through the floor. There was a warm glow of light, and then—

Something sizzled from the terminals. Regal didn't notice it until he finally saw a red spark flare out wildly. He cried, "Get down!" but it was notice taken too late. **BRRANNG! **The terminals exploded in a wildfire, blasting away at all sides. Raine and Genis took a great blunt of the blow, shielding Sheena when it went off. Zelos could do little more than protect himself, a green energy sphere repelling shrapnel away from him. Lloyd and Presea were fairly out of range, Rubber Soul mostly in its path of destruction. Colette dove out of the air, trying to get to the ground before it was too late.

_Squeak. . ._**CLANG!** The floor gave way.

"Not this agaaAAAIIN!", Zelos yelped, angel wings quickly opening up. He flew after the tumbling mages and ninja, barely grabbing two of them and catching the third on his shoulder. Colette tangled Regal's chains around her injured foot, energy focused on saving Presea and Lloyd. They had all managed not to tumble to their deaths—but neither had Rubber Soul.

The brackish green entity cackled, "_Well, isn't this fabulous! I hope you'll come up with something better before we all drown._" His mouth split, silver teeth shining in the green ambience. The dark being jumped down into the welling darkness, almost like a taunt for the group to follow.

Raine shook her head, frustrated, "We can't keep fighting him. We'll have to make our way down to the subs."

Lloyd liked the idea of leaving, but he had his own problems, "Yeah, you're right. But we've got to make sure this guy never hurts anyone again! Even if he's left alone, he could catch somebody else like us."

"Kid's got a point," Zelos agreed, descending swiftly alongside Colette, "There's got to be a way we can double this up."

Sheena had an inkling of an idea, "Is there a way we can lure it onto the sub and fight it there?"

"It should be big enough. I don't see why not," Raine liked that idea, "Well, let's not waste time! Our target is just a few doors away. If we run, we can make it."

The group landed less than gracefully below the shaft under the generator room. Lloyd, Raine, and Presea took the front flank, the half-elf leading the way with her map. Zelos and Genis took the interior, leaving Regal, Sheena, and Colette to protect the back half. It was difficult to see anything in the dark abyss, never the less Rubber Soul. Keeping that in mind, the group moved hastily as possible. Colette swore she could feel the creature staring down her back, but she couldn't take the time to spot it out. It was time to run, the water beginning to trickle downwards from the blasted hole some forty feet above their heads.

Finding a lone dark in the door, Raine shoved the metallic portal open with insane force. There was a glass hallway, vibrating from the overhead stress. Sheena jumped as a screw gave way, water spurting in. They were light-footed as they crossed, haunted by the glowing fish that appeared so deep down in the water. It occurred to Lloyd then just how miniscule of a chance to live they had if the hallway shattered.

Opening the next doorway, Presea could sense a presence, hair rising on the back of her neck. Waiting in the entrance for the rest of the group to squeeze by, she saw a sudden jolt in the darkness around them. She swung with no aim, feeling something connect in the shadows. Rubber Soul howled, lunging at the little girl. Her eyes grew with fright, trying to slam the door shut before it entered inside with the rest of them. Her strength wasn't a match for the sheer velocity of the beast.

With a sickening smack, the door slammed open and blew Presea backwards. Rubber Soul stood over her, one arm throttled around her neck. The party skidded to a sudden halt, Regal and Genis the first to move for retaliation. Presea saw it out of the corner of her eye, and yelled, "Run! Get moving! I'll deal with this on my own."

"Presea! No, you've got to come with us!", Genis begged, his voice cracking with sudden terror.

She argued back, still struggling with the monster, "We have injured it some. It will need me to fuel itself. If you stay, you're giving it what it wants. Move! I'll be with you."

Regal wasn't willing to move either, although some of the other members were swayed, "We can't risk sacrificing you. I owe it to your sister—"

"You don't owe my sister anything! Go!", Presea shrieked angrily, hands grasping on her axe handle, "I'll hold it off for a little while. Just make sure you all get on that ship."

There was a moment of hesitation, and then the final two followed Presea's commands. Presea sighed, thankful they hadn't stalled too long. She could feel the monster's tongue on her neck, but she wasn't afraid. If that thing took her like he had engulfed Sheena, then she would be okay. He wanted to kill them all, anyway. It would be faster to try and catch up with them than waste his time murdering her. She would just be a tag-a-long—a very confined one, but still . . .

After Presea's abduction, Lloyd ripped into the next room. He managed to get through a previous one while the negotiations had taken place. His hair fell limp to his head as he charged into a steam-filled room. His team began crossing a metallic catwalk beneath them, blinded by the blasting heat. Zelos looked particularly sick, casting his poncho aside and into the hazy abyss below. _What is this, anyway,_ he thought, _A boiler room?_

"Geez. Any time to strip is a good one for you, isn't it?", Sheena growled, her hand protecting her eyes from the steam.

Zelos panted happily in front of her, smiling, "And I didn't think you'd notice!"

Of course, things had to go awry just as soon as they finished their joke. Something crunched behind Colette as her foot smacked into a weak rusted part of the bridge. Looking at what had happened, she saw the bridge snap in two, cable supports snapping from stress. The dark creature had severed its support system behind them, leaping across and tearing down the other side. Lloyd had barely crossed into the door safely, catching Sheena and the Professor and dragging them inside. Zelos and Genis leapt into the doorway, rolling over Lloyd's act of bravery. Regal managed to cling to the falling bridge, grabbing the edge of the doorway as soon as it was cleared and flipping in.

Colette didn't follow them.

"Colette? Colette!", Lloyd yelled, looking over the fallen bridge. He couldn't find her, to his distress. He steadied himself on the door, ready to jump out and search for her. Raine kept him in place, clutching him by the scruff of his collar.

His teacher informed him, "Don't be irrational, Lloyd. She can fly." Searching briefly through the blasts of steam, she pointed her our, "She's right there, Lloyd."

Colette had decided to pester Rubber Soul a little bit, throwing her chakram at it and taunting it from afar. She heard Lloyd's call in the distance, and responded cheerfully, "It's okay, Lloyd! I've got it under control!"

Lloyd was beyond confusion, "What are you doing? We have to go!"

"It's okay! I've got an idea!", Colette smiled back, focusing on the beast in front of her, "I'm going to keep it busy and find a way for it to cross. That's so we can beat it later, right?"

"Colette—oh, okay," Lloyd sighed, giving up, "I trust you, okay? Don't get hurt! I'm counting on you!"

Even with the surrounding haze and the monster soon to be at her heels, Colette didn't mind waving back to Lloyd, "Don't worry! I'll be fine!"

Lloyd was certain he was doing the wrong thing all together, but he had no choice. Hoping Colette would be able to function well on her own, he caught up with Raine and continued the charge down to the sub bay. Raine was busy forcing another door open, smashing a security control panel. It was blank, like everything else had been. She was beginning to regret using an EMP bomb as a distraction.

"Of all the things you managed to steal, you couldn't have gotten some keys," Genis shook his head, "How did you expect us to drive a submarine without keys, anyway?"

Raine growled, working on dispatching the door's security, "Oh, I don't know. I thought I'd have Sheena hot-wire it just for fun."

Zelos snickered, still cheeky under pressure, "I wouldn't let her do that. She'd probably blow us to smithereens."

"I'm glad I have your vote of confidence," Sheena muttered, trying to hurry up, "Isn't there any way we can get this done faster?"

Regal sighed, not sure what they could do, "I suppose there is the tried and true 'kick-down-the-door' method." Raine gave up, slamming the controls in frustration. In a stroke of insane probability and luck, something unhitched from inside of the lock. Lloyd wasn't sure what to think of that, watching as his teacher jammed her staff into the door's lock and pried it open. Regal helped her once he could get his fingers into the side, pulling horizontally. The door finally slid across, screeching terribly as it went.

There was a little kink Raine wasn't expecting. Water seeped into the room from the submarine bay, sloshing a little around their heels. The transports had all been dislodged from their docks, bobbing about in the large pool that held them. The door that had been used to keep the water level inside the bay had malfunctioned in the electrical short out, flooding the room as the entire complex began sinking. However, if they worked fast, Raine estimated that the flood wouldn't be a problem.

Lloyd store blankly at the machines in front of him, "You've gotta be kidding me!" They were abnormally large, enough to store two or three Rheiards and still have room for a cockpit and holding den for the crew. There was a round hatch on top, left lackadaisically open. Some looked better off than others, but they all hadn't had repairs in over eight years.

Raine explained why she thought these would work as everyone hurried to a vessel, "They ran out of fuel to use them, so Cycella just abandoned them down here. Sheena, if you could summon Volt or Undine to power them, we should be okay for a short ride. We only need to break surface and head west—no more, no less."

"Okay. I'll see what I can do," Sheena began preparing her summon as everyone else began opening up the least rusted-out sub. She didn't get too far into it until she thought, "Wa-wait. Where'd that Cycella guy go? Do you think Colette defeated him?"

"_Of course not._"

**WHOMP! **The force of Rubber Soul landing was enough to knock everyone backwards. Zelos cringed as he took a look at the beast, "Geez, is it me, or have you gotten extremely ugly?" He had a point going for him – now, besides the whole tentacle and absorbing people deal, Rubber Soul had spawned some strange appendages that might be another set of arms and slick oily wings. He didn't have as many orange globules as it had before, probably used up by the odd growths. He had also shot up in size, quite a bit larger than it had been before. Of course, he wasn't as large as a dragon, but he was pushing the limits of how big an ogre on steroids might be.

Genis yelled at the beast, "You! Back off! We just want to go home!" Although he was unarmed, he still maintained his sometimes-overbearing personality.

"_I am sorry to inform you, but I cannot allow your dispatch from this place,_" Rubber Soul snarled, saliva spilling sloppily on the floor, "_I haven't worked in solitude for so long not to at least destroy the greatest enemy of Cruxis._"

There was a tentative pause as water continued to rush in, the world slightly tilting. The enter structure of the human ranch was sinking, water now rushing to the bottom as well. Everyone drew their weapons, not sure what to expect. Genis and Sheena made their way to their selected sub, preparing to power it up. Their first priority was escaping with everyone alive. If they had to fight Cycella on the submarine, then they would do it.

"You got Colette too, didn't you?" , Lloyd snarled, carefully squaring off against the monster, "I should have stayed with her. I'm sorry I didn't. I swear, in her name, I'll kill you!"

"_Such compassion for the little girl,_" the monster laughed, storming on over, "_Why do you send girls to fight for you, anyway? It's just the same bad hostage situation repeated over and over. Typical human error, I suppose._"

Zelos's brain buzzed in a funny way, and then he muttered, "Get on the sub, Lloyd. I'll distract it."

Lloyd was taken back, "What? Zelos, but—not now! We're not risking anyone else!"

"Listen, you idiot!", Zelos snapped, explaining harshly, "I'm in a lot of pain right now. I'm not going to be really keen in a fight. My throat hurts like hell, and I think I'm going to upchuck. You get your ass on that sub, and I'll pin this sucker inside after you." He then smiled, chuckling, "Now, are you going to listen to me or not?"

Hesitating, Lloyd finally gave up. He signaled for everyone else to follow Genis and Sheena, "Okay. Let's get on the ship! We don't have time for this!" Raine quickly followed him, but Regal didn't go with him. Lloyd gritted his teeth, not sure why the convict was hesitating.

"I. . .I'm going to help Zelos. Please, don't be offended, but I don't think Zelos is strong enough on his own," Regal sighed, not looking back as he charged at the beast, "I'm not going to be much more help either. Lloyd, I have faith in you! Please, forgive me."

Watching dumb-founded as the Chosen of Tethe'alla and the duke went off to defend their position, Lloyd was overcome with a numb feeling of distraught and awe. He was used to his friends protecting him, but this was diving maniacally into suicide. But, they were right. He had to protect the Sages and Sheena, and they would help him kill Rubber Soul. The priority was to escape. Throwing back his anger and frustration, he jumped up the side of the submarine and slid down the hatch. It was time to go.

Lloyd threw himself down the hole, quickly finding his way to the cockpit. Genis and Raine had secured themselves into two driving positions, preparing to get ready to go. Sheena had finished her chant to Volt, the entire atmosphere coming to life with electricity. She gave it specific orders, watching as the sub glowed with power. She was distracted by a heavy thunk in the background, but she quickly got back on track, "Okay, Volt! Power this thing up and get us out of here!"

There was a cry from the distance that sounded like Zelos, "Aagh!" Lloyd jumped, hearing heavy pounding up on the top of the submarine. The entire sub bobbed with its pressure, bouncing as the battle finally proceeded to the interior of the submarine. Genis flipped a couple of switches, the top hatch sealing shut once more. The half-elf informed him, "Hang on, Lloyd. This is going to be bumpy."

Down a few meters into the ship, the engines spat to life with a droning hum. There was a sharp jerk, jarring everyone to the ground. Lloyd grabbed onto the side of Raine's seat as they dove down, barely able to keep standing. Someone else hollered in pain, coming from the far back of the ship. Water splashed all around them, kept tightly out as they dove into the deep abyss. In the murky darkness, there was a door open maybe a quarter of the way. Lloyd jolted as Raine kicked the sub into high gear, taking on a new and terrifying level of velocity.

"Everyone, get ready," Raine warned, "This isn't going to be pretty."

"What are you—waaAAA!", Sheena didn't get to finish her sentence. Both Lloyd and her hit the floor, freaked out at what the half-elves were doing. They aimed for the small hole in the door, spinning the submarine around in a quick but tight spiral. Like a missile, they slammed straight into the exit, scratching through the hole with tremendous speed.

They had escaped—but they still had one last hurdle to jump from the abandoned human ranch.

* * *

Author's Note: (but I thought she said . . .)

Okay, okay. I was bad. I thought this would be the final chapter. But when you write 14 pages for an ending and haven't even gotten to the last hoo-rah fight scene, even I know you have to stop and just make a new chapter. (I must be hell on readers, really.)

Yeah, so. . .I sometimes roll play. By that, I mean chucking dice at my computer desk to see what randomly happens in my story. Like, the whole bottom escape sequence? I just rolled numbers and saw who would get – well, owned, for the lack of a better turn. I put everyone's name on a D8 list, rolled the dice four times, and wrote down the results. No, really! It's a fun way to do battle scenes, too.

I'm digging this whole new reviewer reply thingy. I can go and say thanks and stop stalling for once! Wahoo!

So, once again, very very sorry. I just wanna kill it really dead! . . .Well, right too, I guess. Meep!


	10. Deus Ex Machina

Chapter 10: Deus Ex Machina 

More times than not, when a person is faced with a challenge beyond his or her scope, only they can save themselves. No one ever gets lucky enough to have some great being randomly pop in for tea and a skirmish without some huge act that the person themselves have preformed. Ultimately, this is what makes heros—they do not need someone to fight for them. They bandage their wounds, bite a bullet, and prepare for the worst. Of course, it's ridiculous to say that a person can always be a hero, but more often than not, they're going to try until they kick the bucket.

Or some ass. Give or take.

"Yeah! Did you see that?", Genis cheered, watching as they zipped away from the sinking human ranch, "I mean, we've had some close calls, but still . . ."

Raine reprimanded her younger brother, "This isn't the time to brag, Genis." She turned around, hands still on the controls, "Lloyd, Sheena! Go back there and take care of our stow-away, would you?"

"It's been a little too long since I heard the blabbering idiot," Sheena smirked, preparing to go back to battle, "That's not a good sign."

Lloyd agreed, but tried to be a little more posative about it, "You're kind of harsh on Zelos, Sheena. But, yeah! We're not finished yet!" He was about to charge to the back hanger when he stopped tentatively, "Err . . .Professor? Are you and Genis coming?"

Genis rolled his eyes, somehow still surprised with Lloyd's intellegence, "We've got to drive this thing, Lloyd! You know, so we don't sink to the bottom and drown?"

"Oh, sure, likely story," Lloyd harassed Genis, but didn't take it any futher, "Okay, Sheena! Looks like it's just up to us!"

Sheena sighed, not sure she was liking how this was going to go, "All right. Let's get this over with!" It wasn't like she was entirely alone in this fight, anyway. She had Lloyd for sure, and Zelos and Regal had to be nearby. Their foe had absorbed Presea a while back, and he probably had Colette too. Technically, there were six people available to fight. The only thing left to rely on was their health, but that could be fading fast.

The swordsman and the ninja quickly readed their weapons, opening the hatch from the cockpit of the sub and running down towards the large interior compartment in the back. They got their quickly enough, squeezing by engines alive with Volt's power. The door to the back had been left open, bent off its hinges by a severe blow. Lloyd cringed, hoping that Rubber Soul had been worn down a little bit by all his friends' distractions. They couldn't let that thing escape and risk hurting anyone else!

"Oh, no. . .", Lloyd trailed off in horror, "Guys!"

Both Zelos and Regal had taken a beating, still alive but hanging on the edge of consciousness. Rubbel Soul almost completely trashed the docking bay, large dents in the floors and walls. Electricity was sparkling, wires sputtering as they died out. There were smears of blood splattered around, almost like someone had been playing volleyball with a dying animal. It was overwhelmingly terrifying to see.

Zelos barely whimpered, crouching on his knees, "Good timing, Lloyd . . .as always." His voice had completely gone out on him, the abusive torture on his throat sucking the strength from it. It was blindingly obvious to Sheena and Lloyd that he was about ready to give out, no longer his usual bombastic self.

"_What's this? Company?_", Rubber Soul laughed, cracking his knuckles, "_The more the merrier, I suppose_." With two swift motions, he yanked the Chosen of Tethe'all and the convict off the ground with his tentacles. Zelos's sword clanked on the ground as it fell, its owner cursing that he couldn't hold onto it. The monstorous half-elf experiement taunted the ninja and the swordsman, "_Well, come on! Do you want to save your friends or not?_"

Sheena growled, her mind pounding with frustration. She ordered Lloyd, "Work on getting Zelos down first! He's got fire attacks, and we need that!"

"For what?", Lloyd asked, drawing both his swords, "I mean, I like that you've got a plan, but—"

The ninja explained briefly as both charged into the battlefield, "Colette and I hurt him when I attacked him and she cauterized the wound. If he can't reattach his ligaments, he can't heal!"

"Oh! Well, that makes sense," Lloyd half-smiled, quickly going into his barbarian mode. He always seemed to tap into an inner rage during important battles, especially if his friends' lives were on the line.

The duo didn't make it too close to the project, bashed away by its free tentacles. They moved like little hands, much more advanced than their last encounter. Sheena saw a few bob up and down like if they were casting a spell. There was a bright glow of mana, and then the creature uttered something that sounded like a burp. Gigantic glowing rings of lights soared out around them, landing around them and attacking like holy shruikens. Lloyd gasped in surprise, "It knows Colette's spells! This isn't going to be pretty."

Zelos struggled with the tendrils around him, kicking as hard as he could. Even Regal's blows didn't seem to phase the creature, more tentacles tying around his strong legs and holding him in place. Zelos cussed some more, regretting dropping his measly sword, and twisted within the creature's grasp. There had to be a way to get loose—he couldn't risk Sheena and Lloyd getting unnecessarily hurt for him. A small well of bravery suddenly flowed inside of Zelos's soul, derived from all the times he had hidden like a coward.

"Lloyd! Toss me your sword!", Zelos yelled, snapping one hand loose, "I'll catch it!"

Lloyd was taken back, shaking his head, "Zelos, no! I could hurt you guys!"

"If we don't get this thing taken care of quickly, we're all going to be very dead. Okay? Just trust me!", Zelos hollered, writhing to keep out of Rubber Soul's control. He could be swallowed at any moment—and if the creature had figured out what nasty powers one Chosen had, then it would want the other one as soon as possible.

"Give me that!", Sheena demanded, yanking one of Lloyd's swords away. The young boy was still hesitant, "Sheena, wait a second!"

With surprising speed, Sheena's stolen weapon flew through the air. It pierced straight through a few tentacles, landing sloppily on the floor and then being reabsorbed. Zelos waited for a few moments, watching as the blade came threateningly close to his chest. He held his hand in front of his ribcage, reflexively grabbing the hilt as it came towards him. It was unrealistic, like something out of a samurai legend.

Zelos smiled, "Thanks, babe. Tell Lloyd to get my other one! I'll take care of this!" With a swift slash, he ripped through the tentacles below him, landing flat on the ground. Lloyd snatched Zelos's sword off the floor, pacing carefully around the beast. The boy and the gigolo charged back at the beast, continuing to hack through hundreds of tentacles. They hadn't even got to the monstrous arms or wings yet—this was going to take a while.

"Okay, new plan of attack," Lloyd commanded, watching as the monster re-approached them, "Zelos and I are going on offense. Sheena, if there's anyway you can think of recovering our friends, do it! Ready?"

Both the red-head and the ninja nodded, striding to Lloyd's flanks. Sheena hated playing on defense, but she knew it was an important part of any battle plan. The two swordsmen took off quickly, zipping to the left and right and hacking through more appendages. There was Zelos's successful cheer, "Ah, yeah! _Hell pyre!_" Flesh sizzled, quivering sporadically on the floor before reaching a state of death.

Sheena was doing her own offensive work, although Lloyd didn't classify it as such. Luring some of the appendages away, she blasted them out of Rubber Soul's back with a flurry of swipes. The small nicks and cuts from her weapons sliced some of the tentacles down, a couple permanently knocked loose from Zelos's fiery play. A few even began to unwind from Regal, who looked a little bluer than usual. Sheena finally saw an opportunity to get him free, continuing to play cat-and-mouse. Inside a bald patch of severed appendages, there was a sore wound from their attacks. She slipped under the wave of attacks, smacking the injury and channeling energy through the fans like they were her cards, "_Pyre Seal!_"

Rubber Soul shrieked in agony, arms and everything else swatting Sheena away in revenge. Just as he was about to attack the ninja, there was an awful sound of flesh tearing. Regal had gotten both of his legs untangled enough to fight back, diving into the monster and repelling himself back with its force, "_Eagle Rage!_" His restraints snapped, some straight from their roots in a sickly pull of skin. He landed heavily on the floor, dazed from the impact.

"Geez, you okay?", Zelos drew the monster's attention away from the ninja and the convict, circling around its backside. With half of a thought, he launched another fire spell, "_Fireball!_" The injury seared shut, leaving the flesh still entwined around Regal's body dead. He shook off the remainder as best as he could, then advised Zelos, "Continue with Lloyd's plan. I will assist Sheena."

Zelos normally wasn't keen about taking commands from anyone—he was more partial to giving them out. Then again, he still had his hunnies' lives on his hands. He faked a salute, muttered, "You've got it, Mr. President," and cycled around Rubber Soul once more.

"WHOA!", Lloyd yelped, rolling out of the way of two blade-shaped hands and a few functioning tentacles. It wasn't fun fighting with someone who knew slashing techniques with both hands, not to mention the additional normal arms and all those damn appendages! Okay, so, there might be a little irony there involving his own style of fighting with both hands using swords. Lloyd didn't really appreciate irony, or dramatic foil, or any sort of English terms Raine tried to teach him. He just didn't want to get chopped into tiny little pieces.

Rubber Soul seemed to be very good at multitasking. A white mana circle surrounded the creature, even as he was fighting with the pesky swordsman. Regal and Sheena tried jarring it while Zelos worked on recovering their health, but they couldn't make it lose focus. There was an unsettling flash of mana, and then an unearthly grumble. Pure light beams exploded out of nowhere, slamming into the four fighters and blasting them backwards.

Zelos was the first to recover, frustrated, "Don't tell me that thing knows Judgment."

It finally cackled coherently back at Zelos, "_It's amazing what you can learn from someone once you get into your head. Or, vice versa, should I say?_"

Someone called up from the front of the ship, "Would you guys knock it off? You're going to damage the submarine and kill us all!" It was just like Raine to be bossing them around as she was trying to save their lives.

"We're trying not to!", Lloyd called back, but he was unanswered. He figured the half-elves had tuned them out, still struggling to get to the surface of the ocean. How deep down were they?

Reassigning his priorities, Lloyd looked for another way to injury Rubber Soul. He wasn't particularly happy with the sharp blade-like arms growing out of the monster's body, so he decided it was finally time to do something about it. He ordered the group, "Okay, Sheena and Regal! Find a way to hold down his new arms. I'll attack them, and then Zelos needs to cast Eruption. Got it?"

"All right," Regal responded, the first to charge back at the creature. He narrowly avoided decapitation, rolling under the monster's arms as they smashed down. Sheena gracefully side-stepped both of the attacks, pinning one down with a slam from her fist. Regal got up and jumped down on the other one, nearly breaking its elbow with his force. Lloyd lined himself up ninety degrees from Rubber Soul's front, quickly launching into the air, "_Psi Tempest!_"

There was the sound of two slashes hitting flesh, and then the slickly sliding of dead flesh. Zelos took that as his cue, overcoming the urge to vomit, "_Burn, baby! Eruption!_" The spell crackled through the ground, fountains of lava burning the open wounds and injuring Rubber Soul. Lloyd cheered as he saw his plan finally work, smiling, "All right! We're getting somewhere!"

"_Troublesome humans,_" Rubber Soul seemed pissed off, a slight pain in the back of his throat. But then, he cackled, "_Okay, you want to play games? Let's try something new._"

Sheena and Regal felt something quiver under their feet. The black masses of the dead arms melted into the ground, surrounding the entire floor in a puddle. It suddenly split down the middle, rotating swiftly around the ninja and the convict. They spiraled around in a perfect sphere, engulfing both within seconds. The spheres glowed with dark energy, and then flung foreword with invisible kinetic force. They ricocheted off the wall, striking Lloyd and Zelos in the back. The spheres exploded with the impact, goo sticking to everything and collecting back on the floor.

Sheena was the first to recover, shaking her head, "What the hell was that all about?"

Rubber Soul snickered back, "_I like to mess with humans. They're so . . .interesting. Much like lab rats, really._"

Zelos growled, thoroughly grossed out, "Okay, that's enough of this crap. Lloyd, let's focus!"

"Well, duh. I'm trying!", Lloyd retorted, standing back up after the impact. He tried wiping the oily flesh off his body, but found it nearly impossible, "What is this? I can't get it off!"

"_It's to slow the lab rats down, of course,_" Rubber Soul laughed, watching the human struggle in vain, "_Did you think I was going to let you die so easily?_"

Zelos took the fastest offense, pelting the half-dismembered creature, "You wanna fight? Okay! _Thunder Blade!_" Lighting crackled through the structure of the sub, frying Rubber Soul out. The humans shuddered in pain too—the creature's flesh surprisingly conducted electricity well. Sheena snapped at Zelos, "You idiot! Watch out for that next time!"

Lloyd circled back around the creature, carefully stepping around the sludgy mess and preparing to attack. He slashed through the creature's defenses, starting off on one of his famed sword skills, "_Sonic Thrust!_" He split his attack, carefully striking below and above, "_Tiger Blade!_" Finally, he finished off with a quick bunch of flurry attacks, "_Sword Rain: Alpha!_" He landed neatly on the ground, watching with satisfaction as a good deal of the creature's tar-like wings slushed apart.

"How was that? Pretty cool, huh?", Lloyd cheered, meeting the approval of his teammates. They didn't slow for long, preparing for another attack. Zelos and Sheena were swiped backwards, thrown to the side by a few spare appendages and the two remaining arms that Rubber Soul had. Lloyd lost track of Regal, the convict leaping above the attacks and continuing on his pursuit without as much as a wince of pain. His first kick connected straight with the monster's jaw, swiftly becoming another aerial assault. It was strangely hypnotic to watch, black ooze swirling with the motions of the impacts.

Rubber Soul sneered, flinging Regal backwards with a swat of his hand, "_Humans weren't meant to fly, you know_." Sheena dodged his impact, side stepping just as he crashed awkwardly into the ground. She lost her concentration, looking back at the monster just in time to see it hurdling at her. With a heavy thud, it pounced on the ninja, pinning her down with just his left foot. The ninja was a little awed at how strong it could still be after losing so much of its own body.

"_I was really hoping to torture you for a little while longer,_" Rubber Soul snickered in her ear, losing any former sense of rational it had, "_But, you know the rules. Ladies first, right?_" Without turning to look at the swordsman charging at his back, he flicked Lloyd and Zelos away like they were gnats. He picked the ninja up by the scruff of her neck, drooling rivers of saliva, "_I will enjoy finishing absorbing the extent of your powers!_"

Sheena would have been terrified if she hadn't seen something out of the corner of her eye. There was a transparent bulge in Rubber Soul's side, poking out at an odd angle. She stared blankly at it for a moment, and then flailed to escape. Last time was bad enough being taken in by this thing—she wasn't going to let it happen again! It seemed like too much to hope for, legs swinging wildly.

**SskiderIT!**

A giant axe blade tore through the chest of the monster. Sheena grabbed onto it, finally kicking the monster away and pulling at the same time. She yanked Presea out of the monster like she was a tiny sliver. The pink-haired girl was drenched in foul black ooze, coughing it up as she gasped for air. Sheena tried cleaning her face off, getting her out of the range of attacks as soon as possible. It was good to be up an ally.

"It's all right. I'm okay," Presea stressed to the summoner, standing back up, "I'm just a little wiped out."

Zelos happily greeted his little 'rosebud', "It's okay. Let big ol' Zelos help you out!" He hugged the girl, casting a healing spell at the same time. She did feel better, but she was slightly uncomfortable with the way he was being so clingy.

"We need to focus on rescuing Colette," Presea tried to get the Chosen to focus, "The monster is using up her powers faster than she can regenerate them."

Lloyd, Sheena, and Regal had all redirected their forces back into the fight, struggling in vain to kill the creature off. Sheena was the first cast aside, a heavy smash from one of the two remaining arms blasting her away. Regal was next, grabbed by the other arm and pressed chokingly tight into the floor. Lloyd got through the offense, slashing madly away at Rubber Soul's torso. With one slice, he critically struck the monster's right leg, tearing it in two. He quickly got rid of the other leg, blowing it away, "_Beast Sword Rain!_" Rubber Soul toppled over, lower extremities melting into the ground. At least it couldn't move now, but it was stubbornly keeping alive.

"Hold on! I've got this covered!", Zelos hurriedly cast, "_Eruption!_" Dark flesh sizzled underneath it, bubbling into a soupy lava-like state. The dead parts of Rubber Soul melted into a thick pool on the ground, covering everything in a huge surge of inky ooze. Regal struggled to keep his head above it, still thrashing wildly on the ground. Everything was slick and black.

Presea analyzed the situation quickly, understanding Lloyd's aforementioned plans, "All right. Sheena, we should work together on dissembling it. We will be better prepared as a group." The ninja nodded, wiping blank goop off her arms. Presea launched herself at the monster first, cleaving its hand off, "_Fiery Destruction!_" Sheena quickly followed after her, plastering a weapon onto its entire arm and exploding it back with violent force, "_Demon Seal!_" It blew the monster back, nearly landing on Lloyd and Zelos.

"_Insufferable curs!_", Rubber Soul lashed out, releasing its grip on Regal to strike out at the two girls. Small flecks of lights rained down at them, the user stealing another technique, "_Stardust Cross!_" Using its remaining hand like a propeller, it buzzed across Lloyd and Zelos, knocking them away, "_Whirlwind Rush!_" It stuck its injured stump of an arm back into the pool, sucking its own flesh back into itself. Instead of just restoring its old arm, it took half the pool away to create a gigantic arm to support itself on. It looked like a contorted balancing act.

Lloyd growled, "Zelos! You're supposed to keep on top of that!"

"Sorry, Lloyd! I was only smacked around by a fleshy blender!", Zelos muttered back, his voice crackling again. He had lost too much of his own health again, not able to keep up with the situation.

"We don't have time to argue this!", Regal cut their fighting short, "Look!" Rubber Soul was controlling his own biological properties to produce strange effects, his arms shifting in and out of different forms. Something like a giant bird claw raked Sheena backwards, snapping around to slash into Presea's defense. Regal gave up waiting for the younger boys to quit arguing, charging back into battle. Lloyd double-took for a second, shouting, "What the—watch out!"

Rubber Soul flipped its balance, the larger arm mutating into a snapping draconic face. It writhed above their heads, barreling down to intercept the pests around it. Sheena barely tumbled out of its path while it flung Presea aside like gravel. The head swiveled around to attack Zelos and Lloyd, pummeling straight into them like an unstoppable current of dark energy. It circled back around them, coils squeezing around the boys and pinning their arms to their sides. With a sinister sneer, sharp fangs found its remaining victim, the second set of jaws plucking Regal from the floor like he was a dead rodent.

"**UGH!**", Lloyd grunted, barely able to breathe, "We're going to die, aren't we?"

Zelos was short on breath, struggling, "Yeah, well . . .yeah. No matter what, it's going to keep reassembling itself. You could cut it into a million pieces . . .and I could burn it . . ." He whimpered, on the verge of passing out, "But it'll keep reattaching."

Sheena scolded both of them, trying vainly to pull them free of the monster's strange mutating arms, "Would you two just shut up and try? We still need to save Colette!"

"She's right," Presea murmured, distracting Rubber Soul by slicing at its support, "We need to keep optimistic. We can look for drastic measures after we rescue Colette." She managed to shatter through its other arm, but nobody could cauterize the attack for her. It sucked up some more goo from the bottom of the floor, creating a more stable support and laughing hideously.

Regal's head went limp, the convict profusely apologizing, "I can't keep this up. I'm sorry." His wounds were becoming black, the monster's ooze poisoning his body. Lloyd yelled in fear, startled at the sudden drop in his strength, "No! Gah—Raine! Genis! Somebody—we need help!"

"Lloyd, don't get them into this," Zelos felt hopeless, "They'll be killed, too."

Sheena slapped Zelos as she continued to try and blast the two boys free from Rubber Soul's strangling grasp, "They're going to be hurt if we all just sit here and get killed! Come on, fight!"

Lloyd tried struggling, Zelos blacking out from the lack of oxygen. He kicked sharply with his legs, begging, "Come on, Colette! If you're in there, you've gotta fight! Don't let us die like this!"

Somehow, through all the thick ooze and fear deep within Rubber Soul, Colette heard Lloyd. She painfully remembered all the times she was ready to give up, and how Lloyd had always protected her. All of her friends defended her, gambling with their own lives to protect her. A part of her soul shuddered, remembering nightmares with dragons and snakes and demons. Even with all her fear, Colette's teammates still depended on her. A spark of power surged through the Chosen of Sylvarant, mana pooling around Rubber Soul as she fought to cast her own spell. She had to free herself if she wanted to save her friends.

White light exploded from inside Rubber Soul, bright beams shredding the monster to pieces. Lloyd, Zelos, and Regal all dropped to the ground, splattering ooze around them. As the monster began to reconstitute itself, a jet-black angel covered with gunk flew free from its body and out into the open with her friends. She landed gracefully next to Presea and Sheena, arms crossed and chakrams drawn, "I won't let you die, Lloyd!"

The boy was surprised his cry had reached her, but above that, he rejoiced, "Colette! You're okay!"

"Of course!", she smiled, hovering around the towering pile of ooze that was growing back into Rubber Soul, "Lloyd, I'm sorry I can't always protect you. But this time, I'm going to do it! I promise you!"

"That's kind of backwards," Zelos coughed as he came to, arms bracing himself up in a sitting position, "It'll work."

Sheena rolled her eyes, smacking Zelos on the back of his head, "You just have all the luck, don't you?"

The group realigned itself for battle once more, one line unarranged by any sort of tactic. Lloyd and Colette were in the middle, Regal and Presea guarding their left flank and Sheen and Zelos their other side. Rubber Soul finally reformed, cackling at their display, "_Good move, Chosen! Really, I do mean it—I didn't think I could recover this time. It's too bad you're not coming back inside me to do that again. I try not to make the same mistake twice._"

Lloyd's brain spun around, "Wait! That's it!"

"You've got a plan?", Sheena asked, still keeping her defensive stance, "We could really use one right now."

Lloyd nodded, "Uh-huh. The best kind." He pointed out the door, "Everybody, retreat!"

"What? Why?", Zelos asked, shocked by the idea, "I mean, I like it, but that's not going to stop it!"

"It's okay!", Lloyd laughed, a half-insane tick in his eye, "It's a little suicidal, but it might work!"

Regal sighed, the first to act, "I was afraid you might say something like that." He picked Presea up off the ground and ran, managing to keep his footing and slide through the door of the hanger before Rubber Soul could assault both of them. Sheena charged next, grabbing Zelos's hand and yanking him across with her. Lloyd and Colette took off in different directions, both swerving out of Rubber Soul's range of attack and slamming the door shut behind them. Lloyd jammed Zelos's crummy sword under the door's lock, yelling, "Okay. I don't know how long this will hold him, so let's move up to the cockpit."

Less than sixty seconds later, all six managed to squish themselves up into the cockpit with Genis and Raine. The older sister greeted them skeptically, "Hello. Lloyd, did you kill Rubber Soul yet?"

"Uh, kind of," the boy scratched the back of his head, "Does this thing have lasers? Bombs? Any kind of weapon?"

Genis didn't like the sound of this, "Yeah. Lloyd, what are you—"

Lloyd hurriedly interrupted Genis, "How close are we to the surface of the ocean?"

"Twenty or thirty feet, give or take," Raine answered, "Where are you going with this?"

Lloyd shrugged and suggested, "Well, Rubber Soul is hurt a lot by big explosions. Zelos and Genis can't make a big enough spell, and Colette can't focus her Judgment spell. Sheena's not mad enough yet, either, so we can't summon anything. I was thinking that maybe . . .we should blow the sub up."

There was a tentative pause.

"**WHAT?**", Raine yelled with anger, "You are crazy, Lloyd Irving! This is the only thing keeping us alive! **I CAN'T SWIM!** You're not making us do this! You are going to kill us!"

Zelos smiled, still half-dazed from his earlier battle, "That's okay, my lovely Professor. I can swim us to safety!" Sheena abruptly smacked him, leveling him to the ground.

**BANG!** Something heavy began throwing itself at the walls, bolts shuddering under the pressure. Regal and Presea braced themselves against the door, hoping it would hold. A deep angry voice belted outside, "_Your lives will be mine! I am not to be so easily handled!_"

Genis sighed, listening to the cacophony. He questioned Lloyd, "Are you sure this is the only thing that will kill him?"

Lloyd quickly nodded, going to reinforce the door with Presea and Regal. Colette helped him out, pressing it shut as hard as she could. The two half-elves looked at each other, subconsciously debating Lloyd's plan. They didn't have long to calculate the insanity of it.

"Go ahead," Raine gave up, letting her brother take over missile control. Genis punched up a couple of buttons, managing the aim of the sub. He pointed the guns turrets back at the sub as best as he could, hoping it would do enough damage to destroy the ship at once. He crossed himself, muttered something like a prayer under his breath, and then told Lloyd, "If we make it, Lloyd . . ."

"Yeah?", the swordsman grunted, still trying to hold Rubber Soul back.

Genis hollered, "I'm going to seriously hurt you for this!" With that, he slammed the firing buttons on the counsel and prepared for something awful to happen.

Then, everything went very noisy, dark, wet, cold . . .and then silent.

* * *

He was quite sure he had gone to heaven. There were all sorts of cute nuns fawning over him, patting his head and saying things like, "Poor man. He looks so fragile!" There was a pleasantly numb feeling for the first few seconds, and then it came to him that he wasn't quite as dead as he thought he was. His stomach surged, his throat burned, and then he threw up seawater and kelp. Hacking, he heard another familiar voice that clearly broke the peacefulness of the scene, "Oh, it's just _him._ Back off! You don't want this one!"

Nope. This was definitely hell—or the closest mortal thing to it. It was actually the South-Eastern Abbey of Tethe'alla, which happened to be the home of Zelos's only living relative. His little half-sister didn't really like having him around, though. He was more of a burden than anything else. Most days, she liked pretending she didn't share genes with him.

"Seles?", Zelos asked weakly, sitting up, "Where am I?"

Seles growled, about ready to smack her stupid brother upside the head, "Where do you think? Atlantis?" She shooed off the rest of the nuns crooning around Zelos, forcing them back to their jobs along the abbey. He half-laughed, knowing how jealous Seles could actually get about him. She did love him, in a strange, abusive kind of way.

Wobbling up, Zelos noticed he had been lying in the surf. Of all the places for the ocean current to take him, it had to place him here. With a shudder in his heart, Zelos gasped, "Wait! Where's—"

"Your idiot friends?", Seles finished his sentence, "They're here. They all washed up with you. I just made sure they were brought in first. I thought maybe some mermaid would kidnap you and take you away."

Zelos shivered again, a flood of memories returning. After the whole enslavement to a crazed half-elf thing, he wasn't willing to undergo any kinky bondage again. Seles continued picking on her big brother, while he followed her inside the abbey, "You wouldn't be so cold if you had a shirt on, you know. Your man-boobs are going to freeze off."

"They're not called man-boobs, Seles," Zelos argued, wringing his hair out, "They're nipples, okay?"

Seles rolled her eyes, "Whatever, college boy." She did worry a little bit about Zelos, so she silently muttered, ". . .what happened? Did you get caught in a typhoon or something?"

Zelos nodded, "Kind of. It's—ah, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Seles shook her head arrogantly, leading him down to the chapel. A few more nuns were caring for his friends, all more or less alive. Lloyd was up and about, his arm wrapped up but otherwise okay. Colette was conscious too, her leg attended to and happily chatting with a few nuns. A larger nun was coddling Genis like he was her own child, the half-elf enduring the affection. Raine seemed okay, her head bandaged from a concussive blow. Sheena wasn't feeling so well, leaning on one of the pews half-wake and half-asleep. Presea was still unconscious, but she didn't look like she was in great pain. She was sleeping in Regal's arms, the convict more or less dozing too.

"You idiots are pretty lucky," Seles muttered, sitting down on a pew, "We heard there was a series of nasty storms a couple of miles outside of Altamira. You must have gotten caught in it, right?"

"Kind of," Zelos answered, not detailing it any further. She really didn't need to know the details about how they were facilitated by a gigantic underwater human ranch or anything like that. Instead, he asked, "How long ago was that?"

Seles gave him a strange look, "Three days ago, moron. Can't you tell time?"

Three days? For all the hell they had suffered, from losing each other to falling into the hands of maladjusted half-elves to their narrow escape, it had only been three days? It blew him away to think about it. He slouched onto one of the pews, sitting down next to Sheena. The ninja didn't swat him away, stomach still rolling from seasickness. He wasn't adding to her misery, so she let him be.

"Seles? Thanks for helping us out," Colette cheerily grinned, wrapped in a warm towel, "We've been through a lot lately."

Seles wasn't so rude to the Chosen, brushing her off lightly, "Ah, it's nothing." She went to leave the group alone, muttering a lame excuse, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm very busy. I have my studies to attend to. Make sure you find yourself some decent clothing, Zelos. I'd hate to have you freeze to death and have a good preacher lie at your funereal."

She abruptly left before Zelos could thank her. The other nuns tailed after her, giving the group some peace and quiet. He hung his head, suddenly feeling about as awful as Sheena. It had been some time since he could fully admit how he was feeling to himself. He sighed, a soft exasperation that drew Lloyd's attention.

"Hey, are you okay?", Lloyd sat down next to Zelos, patting his back, "It's okay to be a little overwhelmed right now."

Zelos shook his head, nobly trying to defy his emotions, "Nah, I'm fine." He paused, added, "Lloyd, I'm sorry about doubting you earlier. We still cool?"

Lloyd shrugged, chuckling, "Of course! Why not? Sometimes, I doubt you too."

Genis interrupted, "I'd doubt you more than him, Lloyd."

Glancing cock-eyed at the half-elf, Lloyd tried to ignore that comment. He and his sister sat down behind them, resting with Regal and Presea. The entire escape had been a drain, never the less their injuries. Colette was worried about her friends too, sitting with them for a little while. It felt good to be still for once.

Regal sleepily murmured, "I think we trust each other more than we know."

"I guess. I don't doubt you guys nearly enough," Sheena perked up, putting her legs over the end of the pew and resting her head on Zelos's shoulder, "Not nearly enough."

Colette smiled, stating the simple truth, "It's the only way we got out of there alive. I mean, if we didn't trust Raine and Genis, and didn't rely on Lloyd and Sheena breaking free, and didn't think our friends would be strong enough to survive . . .we wouldn't have gotten very far."

Genis smirked, "Colette, that was pretty smart. I mean, if Lloyd would have said it—"

"Shut it, Genis," Lloyd growled, but then lightened up, "Yeah. We'll leave it at that, I guess. We all still friends?"

"Of course, Lloyd," Raine calmed her student, "Now, quit blabbering. Just relax for a little while. We still have a long way to go before we save the worlds."

She was right. And so was Colette, and Genis, and Regal, and Raine, and –well, everyone. They had each other. That alone had slain Cruxis. With their strengths, they could do whatever they wanted. No one was chained to the codes of society, heritage, or false groups. All they needed was each other.

All they needed was love.

* * *

Renegade Fortress: 21:43 hours

They had received the message at Rodyle's cleaned-out human ranch. It was odd, transferred over an expired piece of technology. They would have never received it if one of the lackeys hadn't left all of the machinery on during his shift. And now, looking at it, Yuan did not know what to think. It was so bizarre.

There was a purple-haired woman on screen, blabbing on and on about some humans they had caught. She wanted prices on them, to see if Rodyle wanted any more humans, asking for reports on how his Mana Cannon project was going. It was like she didn't even know he was dead. There were no records of her in Cruxis's database, nor in Rodyle's old files. It was like if they had received a message from a ghost.

Never the less, Yuan did send out spy orbital robots shortly after the message was reported to him. It was intriguing that she mentioned Lloyd Irving and Sheena Fujibayashi in the message. He swore that he saw more half-elves behind her, and a symbol with the name 'Dycroft'. There was a small record about a Dycroft accessory ranch that Rodyle had kept, but his notes made no further documentation about the place. The only way he was going to find anything out about this place was to trace the signal back to its source.

"Lord Yuan," one of his lower henchmen greeted him, "We've got visual contact of the place. You might want to see this."

Yuan flipped on his video screen without as much as a word of reply, studying the image in front of him. It was night, a starless sky reflecting emptily into the water. A huge mass of something was sticking up in the air, but he couldn't tell what it was. He swiftly ordered, "Put on the bright lights."

The robot flicked light around it, finally catching the gigantic mass. It was the tip of an island sticking up out of the water, maybe not much more than twenty feet. His spy robot blandly reported back, "THERE APPEARS TO BE A LAND MASS BELOW THIS. SCANNING INDICATES A LARGE COMPLEX. IT IS SINKING AT A SLOW RATE. ESTIMATED TIME OF FULL SUBMERSION: 4 HOURS 27 MINUTES."

"Are there any survivors?", Yuan asked, staring at the stump of land in the air.

His spy replied, "NEGATIVE. THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF LIFE. SCANNING INDICATES APPROXIMATELY 57 DEAD. LIFE FORM TYPE IS UNKNOWN."

Yuan studied another screen for a moment, checking on Lloyd's position. Zelos and Colette both possessed Cruxis-regulated crystals that could be traced via radar. Both appeared to be 153 miles southeast, on a small island. He finally addressed his half-elven lackey below, "Can we confirm the radar results on the Chosens?"

"It's accurate, sir," the officer remarked, "All eight are accounted for. We have rumors that Kratos Aurion is in the Heimdall area. There appears to be no fatalities from our priority one contacts."

"Good," Yuan half-smiled, turning his attention back to the screen. He jumped back, startled, "What is that?"

The robot reported, "THERE IS NOTHING PRESENT. I DO NOT DETECT A DISTURBANCE."

Yuan's eyes saw something else. There was a man standing there in a blue uniform, hat slightly tilted on his head. His eyes were empty, almost like staring into black holes. The half-elf scratched his moustache, studying the robot. He got extremely close to it, blank eyes outlined ever so slightly with red. That was when Yuan realized that the man had no eyes—there were just empty sockets.

This was irritating and terrifying to Yuan. Growling, he demanded, "Who are you? What are you doing?"

The man mouthed something, but there were no words coming out. He was dribbling spittle down the front of his shirt, mouth slightly foaming. Yuan stepped back in disgust, not sure what to think. He looked over to his lackey to confirm what he was seeing, but the half-elf had already run off in fear. It was too much for him to handle.

"Scan the area again. Readjust your volume, and make sure this isn't a visual error," Yuan firmly ordered the robot. It made no move, staying perfectly still like it had no internal programming.

The blue man whispered something into the eye of the robot, almost licking the lens, "_Never see it any other way. Never see it any other way. Never see it any other way._" A worm crawled out of one of his eye sockets, writhing around the camera in a strange JU-JU pattern. Yuan jolted again, his hand over his mouth.

There was a sudden explosion of noise. It sounded like white static, grainy voices all scratching across his ears. The noise didn't make any sense, all sorts of warbled sayings repeated over and over again. It grew intensely loud in his head, blasting his eardrums until he thought they would bleed. He covered them, his eyes clenched shut. Finally, he yelled, "Shut the hell up!"

And then there was silence.

Yuan opened his eyes. The man was still standing there, motionless and quiet. He simply smiled, somehow feeling like he had communicated his point to the half-elf. Quietly, he murmured, "_Please don't be long, or I may be asleep_."

And then there was no picture.

Yuan shuddered, noticing the signal light of the robot had gone dead. It was deactivated, most likely destroyed. He put on hand on his heart, leaning slightly on his computer counsel. That was something he didn't like dealing with. He was never keen on the supernatural—that was always Martel's fascination. Poor sweet dead Martel.

"Sir? Are you all right?", the lackey had come back after his cowardice. He tried to console the leader, "We can get another robot out there, if you like."

Yuan protested, "No. That's fine. We'd better leave it alone."

The lackey looked startled, "But sir! Certainly, if this place is hazardous, shouldn't we eliminate it?"

"No. Don't worry about it. There's nothing there that will harm us, now," Yuan simply stated. He felt kind of dehydrated—maybe he would go get something to drink.

His little cohort wouldn't let up on him, "But, sir? How do you know? Was that a—"

Yuan stopped him, explaining, "Don't worry about it. That man is dead. Just be afraid of the living that walk among us."

" . . .like who, sir?", the lackey questioned.

"I'm not sure," Yuan shook his head, coming up with only one answer, "Perhaps Elvis."

—El Fine—

Author's Final Notes:

So, there was my Sgt. Pepper's of Tales of Symphonia. More or less. Let's face it—this was a giant spoof of Lost and The Beatles. Several times when I was writing this story, I would accidentally predict events that would happen in Lost (like, the Dharma institutions? Yeah . . .) I'm sure I just dropped a large spoiler there.

There's a good chance that if you are minutely educated with the Beatles, you've caught most of the jokes here. If nothing else, search "Paul Is Dead" on Wikipedia, and you're bound to find out more about it. For some reason, the radical music fans like thinking McCartney's dead and Presley's alive.

Did I plan on such a long fight scene? . . .Never do. I like making checks so mostly everyone is balanced out in battle. I have my favorites (cough Tethe'alla cough), but I try not to overplay their parts more than necessary. Everyone likes somebody, so I try to right with a set of balance.

I'm sure I just made Kratos fans bored, though. Oh, well. There's like . . . at least 217 other Kratos fanfics out there. So, I'm trying to make this a general story for all people. I think I actually did okay with Shelos/Sheloyd (although I do like Shelos more – I think it's called dramatic foil?)

The Yuan scene? I just made that for fun. Because, as you might know, the Renegades have control of Rodyle's base by now. So, I thought, hey! Wouldn't he get this phantom message floating about? I hate to sound self-centered or something, but that part _really_ creeped me out when I wrote it. I suppose having A Day In the Life in the background on didn't help?

Anyway, once again—I hope you enjoyed this fanfic. Sorry to have over killed, but it's better than too little detail. I'm going to be writing a more Sheena-centric fanfic next time, with ninjas. Many ninjas. And ninja legends! Mhwa ha hah!

So, party on, and I hope to read your own stuff soon!

August 12 – December 16, 2005 — Zelda's Fox 38/DemonFox38

R.I.P. John – 25 years.  
R.I.P. George – 4 years.  
R.I.P. Stuart – 43 years.  
Pete, Ringo, Paul – Alive as of 2005

(Note: Stuart and Pete were early members.)

If the main four die backwards from the way I killed them, call it whack.


End file.
